








% ^^ 






. . v^->^ .... <^./^->: . : v**!- v 










%>.^^^ 



A ^. 













,^^%. 






." ^^ <3<^ 



% .A^ 



<:-.v^';<..:,%:'^\/ 













.^y ^ 











. .r.^^ ^^ ^,^^:^.-^ .^^^ ^ 






Ho. 



^^"^ 



a> Q. 
















Z 







1^ o cb A. 















r "• '."^S"^,- ^^^ "^ 







^Q."'77:^\^^' 



\ ^^0^ «^ 







^ ^^ 




<J.> ^ 

















Vo^ 



^^ds 



^^^ «^ 



^''77^^\<r c^o'^^!^N*^ v*^^\r 



^<>V 










^^.p<<^ 












■=^^0^ .*A\|l^'° "^^d« .'^1^'' '-^.d* 







^^" ^ 



^.^^ 



^'"-vv^^ 




NO CROSS, m CUO¥N: 

A DISCOURSE 

SHEWraCS TEE SATUBE AKD DISCIPLINE OF 

THE HOLY CROSS OF CHRIST 



A?rD THAT 

DAILY BEARING OF CHRIST'S CROSS, IS 



-^ 'Z^lZ^^^^^i^^^^'^ » -''• 



THE ALONE 

TO WHICH ARE ADDED, 



^ TIMES, IN FAVOUR OF THIS TREATISi^. 



IN TWO PARTS. 

BY WILLIAM PENN. 



«A.a Jesus said unto his. ^^^^^^^^Z^^^^^S""^ '^" 
deny bin^self, and take up h.s ^^^f ^^^l^^f/^^^^.^.e, I have kept the. faith 

^fi^ 



4* *' \ 

PHIiniEtELPHIA: 
PRINTED BY T. K. & P. G. COLLINS, 

FOR THE REPRESENTATIVE COMMITTEE, OR MEETING FOR SUFFER- 
FOR THE REl 1^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ MEETING OF FRIENDS, 

' HELD IN PHILADELPHIA : 

1853. 






The republication of "No Cross, No Crown" having "been 
verbally referred to the Representatiye Committee or Meeting for 
Sufferings at our late yearly meeting, it was, on solid consideration, 
believed a benefit might result to the youth of our Society, as well 
as advance our testimonies, by its republication. 

It has gone through many editions, being considered a standard 
work, and as setting forth, in a clear and conspicuous manner, the 
nature and disciniine of the Cross of Christ. 

It is recommended to the careful perusal of the youth, being 
written in 1668, during the Author's confinement in the Tower of 
London for conscience sake, when only twenty-four years of age, 

nth mo. 1653. 



PREFACE. 



Reader : The great business of man's life is, to 
answer the end for which he lives ; and that is, to 
glorify God, and save his own soul : this is the decree 
of heaven as old as the world. But so it is, that man 
mindeth nothing less than what he should most mind ; 
and despiseth to inquire into his own being, its origi- 
nal, duty and end ; choosing rather to dedicate his 
days (the steps he should make to blessedness) to 
gratify the pride, avarice, and luxury of his heart ; as 
if he had been born for himself, or rather given him- 
self being, and so not subject to the reckoning and 
judgment of a superior power. To this wild and 
lamentable pass hath poor man brought himself, by 
his disobedience to the law ef God in his heart, by 
doing that which he knows he should not do, and 
leaving undone what he knows he should do. And 
as long as this disease continueth upon man, he will 
make his God his enemy, and himself incapable of the 
love and salvation that he hath manifested by his son, 
Jesus Christ, to the world. 

If, Reader, thou art such an one, my counsel to thee 
is, to retire into thyself, and take a view of the condi- 
tion of thy soul : for Christ hath given thee light with 
•which to do it : search carefully and thoroughly ; thy 

3 



4 PKEFACE. 

life is upon it ; thy soul is at stake. It is but once 
to be done ; if thou abusest thyself in it, the loss is 
irreparable ; the world is not price enough to ransom 
thee : wilt thou then for such a world be-late thyself, 
over-stay the time of thy salvation, and lose thy soul ? 
Thou hast to do (I grant thee) with great patience ; 
but that also must have an end : therefore provoke 
not that God that made thee, to reject thee. Dost 
thou know what it is ? It is Tophet, it is hell, the 
eternal anguish of the damned. Oh ! Reader, as one 
knowing the terrors of the Lord, I persuade thee to 
be serious, diligent, and fervent about thy salvation ! 
aye, and as one knowing the comfort, peace, joy and 
pleasure of the ways of righteousness too, I exhort 
and invite thee to embrace the reproofs and convic- 
tions of Christ's light and spirit in thine own con- 
science, and bear the judgment, who hast wrought the 
sin. The fire burns but the stubble ; the wind blows 
but the chaff : yield up thy body, soul and spirit, to 
him that maketh all things new; new heavens and 
new earth, new love, new joy, new peace, new works, 
a new life and conversation. Men are grown corrupt 
and drossy by sin, and they must be saved through 
fire, which purgeth it away ; therefore the word of 
God is compared to a fire, and the day of salvation to 
an oven ; and Christ himself to a refiner of gold, and 
purifier of silver. 

Come, Reader, hearken to me a while ; I seek thy 
salvation ; that is my plot ; thou wilt forgive me. A 
refiner is come near thee, his grace hath appeared to 
thee : it shews thee the world's lusts, and teacheth 
thee to deny them. Receive his leaven, and it will 
change thee ; his medicine, and it will cure thee ; he 



I 



PREFACE. 5 

is as infallible as free ; without money, and with cer- 
tainty. A touch of his garment did it of old ; it will 
do it still ; his virtue is the same, it cannot be ex- 
hausted ; for in him the fulness dwells : blessed be God 
for his sufficiency. He laid help upon him, that he 
might be mighty to save all that come to God through 
him : do thou so, and he will change thee : aye, thy 
vile body like unto his glorious body. He is the great 
philosopher indeed, the wisdom of God, that turns lead 
into gold, vile things into things precious : for he 
maketh saints out of sinners, and almost gods of men. 
What rests to us then, that we must do, to be thus 
witnesses of his power and love ? This is the Crown : 
but where is the Cross ? Where is the bitter cup and 
bloody baptism ? Come, Reader, be like him ; for this 
transcendent joy lift up thy head above the world ; 
then thy salvation will draw nigh indeed. 

Christ's Cross, is Christ's way to Christ's Crown. 
This is the subject of the following discourse ; first 
written during my confinement in the Tower of 
London, in the year 1668, now re-printed with great 
enlargements of matter and testimo^iies, that thou, 
Reader, mayest be won to Christ ; and if won al- 
ready, brought nearer to him. It is a path, God in 
his everlasting kindness guided my feet into, in the 
flower of my youth, when about two and twenty years 
of age : then he took me by the hand and led me out 
of the pleasures, vanities, and hopes of the world. I 
have tasted of Christ's judgments, and of his mercies, 
and of the world's frowns, and reproaches : I rejoice 
in my experience and dedicate it to thy service in 
Christ. It is a debt I have long owed, and has been 
long expected : I have now paid it, and delivered my 



6 PREFACE. 

soul. To my country, and to the world of christians 
I leave it : May God, if he please, make it eiFectual to 
them all, and turn their hearts from that envy, hatred 
and bitterness, they have one against another about 
worldly things ; (sacrificing humanity and charity to 
ambition and covetousness, for which they fill the 
earth with trouble and oppression) that receiving the 
spirit of Christ into their hearts (the fruits of which 
are love, peace, joy, temperance and patience, bro- 
therly kindness and charity) they may in body, soul 
and spirit, make a triple league against the world, 
the flesh and the devil, the only common enemies of 
mankind ; and having conquered them through a life 
of self-denial, by the power of the Cross of Jesus, they 
may at last attain to the eternal rest and kingdom of 
God. 

So desireth, so prayeth. 
Friendly Reader, 

Thy fervent christian friend, 

WILLIAM PENN. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN 



PART I 



CHAPTER I. 

Sect. 1. Of the necessity of the Cross of Christ in general; yet the 
little regard christians have to it. 2. The degeneracy of Christendom^ 
from purity to lust, and moderation to excess. 3. That worldly lusts 
and pleasures are become the care and study of christians, so that they 
have advanced upon the impiety of infidels. 4. This defection a second 
part to the Jewish tragedy, and worse than the first : the scorn chris- 
tians have cast on their Saviour. 5. Sin is of one nature all the world 
over ; sinners are of the same church, the devil's children : profession 
of religion in wicked men, makes them but the worse. 6. A wolf is 
not a lamb, a sinner cannot be (whilst such) a saint. 7. The wicked 
will persecute the good ; this false christians have done to the true, for 
non-compliance with their superstitions; the strange carnal measures 
false christians have taken of Christianity; the danger of that self-se- 
duction. 8. The sense of that has obliged me to this discourse, for a 
dissuasive against the world's lusts, and an invitation to take up the 
daily Cross of Christ, as the way left us by him to blessedness. 9. Of 
the self-condemnation of the wicked; that religion and worship are 
comprised in doing the will of God. The advantage good men have 
upon bad men in the last judgment. 10. A supplication for Christ- 
endom, that she may not be rejected in that great assize of the world. 
She is exhorted to consider, what relation she bears to Chi'ist ; if her 
Saviour, how saved, and for what : what her experience is of that great 
work. That Christ came to save from sin, and wrath by consequence; 
not save men in sin, but from it, and so the wages of it. 

Sect. 1. Though the knowledge and obedience of 
the doctrine of the cross of Christ, be of infinite mo- 
ment to the souls of men; for that is the only door to 
true Christianity, and that path the ancients ever trod 
to blessedness: yet with extreme affliction, let me say, 
it is so little understood, so much neglected, and what 
is worse, so bitterly contradicted by the vanity, super- 
stition, and intemperance of professed christians, that 



8 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

we must either renounce to believe what the Lord 
Jesus hath told us, Luke xiv. 27, "That whosoever 
doth not bear his cross, and come after him, cannot be 
his disciple:" or, admitting that for truth, conclude, 
that the generality of Christendom do miserably de- 
ceive and disappoint themselves in the great business 
of Christianity and their own salvation. 

Sect. 2. For, let us be never so tender and charita- 
ble in the survey of those nations, that intitle them- 
selves to any interest in the holy name of Christ, if 
we will but be just too, we must needs acknowledge, 
that after all the gracious advantages of light, and ob- 
ligations to fidelity, which these latter ages of the 
world have received, by the coming, life, doctrine, mira- 
cles, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ, with 
the gifts of his Holy Spirit; to which add the writings, 
labours, and martyrdom of his dear followers in all 
times, there seems very little left of Christianity but 
the name: which being now usurped by the old heathen 
nature and life, makes the professors of it but true 
heathens in disguise. For though they worship not 
the same idols, they worship Christ with the same 
heart: and they can never do otherwise, whilst they 
live in the same lusts. So that the unmortified chris- 
tian and the heathen are of the same religion. For 
though they have different objects, to which they do 
direct their prayers, that adoration in both is but forced 
and ceremonious, and the deity they truly worship is 
the god of the world, the great lord of lusts: to him 
they bow with the whole powers of soul and sense. 
What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall 
we wear? And how shall we pass away our time? 
Which way may we gather wealth, increase our power, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. , 9 

enlarge our territories, and dignify and perpetuate our 
names and families in the earth? Which base sensu- 
ality is most pathetically expressed and comprised by 
the beloved apostle John, in these words : "The lust 
of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, 
which (says he) are not of the Father, but of the world 
that lieth in wickedness."^ 

Sect. 3. It is a mournful reflection, but a truth no 
confidence can be great enough to deny, that these 
worldly lusts fill up the study, care and conversation 
of wretched Christendom! and which aggravates the 
misery, they have grown with time. For as the world 
is older, it is worse; and the examples of former lewd 
ages, and their miserable conclusions, have not de- 
terred, but excited ours; so that the people of this, 
seem improvers of the old stock of impiety, and have 
carried it so much farther than example, that instead 
of advancing in virtue, upon better times, they are 
scandalously fallen below the life of heathens. Their 
high-mindedness, lasciviousness, uncleanness, drunken- 
ness, swearing, lying, envy, backbiting, cruelty, trea- 
chery, covetousness, injustice, and oppression are so 
common, and committed with such invention and ex- 
cess, that they have stumbled and embittered infidels 
to a degree of scorning that holy religion, to which 
their good example should have won their affections. 

Sect. 4. This miserable defection from primitive 
times, when the glory of Christianity was the purity of 
its professors, I cannot but call the second and worst 
part of the Jewish tragedy, upon the blessed Saviour 
of mankind. For the Jews, from the power of ignor- 
ance, and the extreme prejudice they were under to the 

' 1 John ii. 16. 



10 , NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

unworldly way of his appearance, would not acknow- 
ledge him when he came, but for two or three years 
persecuted, and finally crucified him in one day. But 
the false christian's cruelty lasts longer : they have 
first, with Judas, professed him, and then, for these 
many ages, most basely betrayed, persecuted, and cru- 
cified him, by a perpetual apostacy in manners, from 
the self-denial, and holiness of his doctrine; their lives 
giving the lie to their faith. These are they that the 
author of the epistle to the Hebrews tells us, "crucify 
to themselves the son of God afresh, and put him to 
open shame :"^ whose defiled hearts, John, in his Reve- 
lation, stiles, the streets of Sodom, and Egypt, spirit- 
ually so called, where he beheld the Lord Jesus cruci- 
fied, long after he had been ascended. And as Christ 
said of old, a man's enemies are those of his own house; 
so Christ's enemies now, are chiefly those of his own 
profession: "they spit upon him, they nail and pierce 
him, they crown him with thorns, and give him gall 
and vinegar to drink. "^ Nor is it hard to apprehend; 
for they that live in the same evil nature and principle 
the Jews did, that crucified him outwardly, must needs 
crucify him inwardly; since they that reject the grace 
now in their own hearts, are one in stock and genera- 
tion with the hard-hearted Jews, that resisted the grace 
that then appeared in and by Christ. 

Sect. 5. Sin is of one nature all the world over ; 
for though a liar is not a drunkard, nor a swearer a 
whoremonger, nor either properly a murderer; yet 
they are all of a church ; all branches of the wicked 
root ; all of a kin. They have but one father, the 
devil, as Christ said to the professing Jews,^ the visi- 

* Heb. vi. 6. Rev. xi. 8. a Matt, xxvii. ' John viii. M to 45, 



NO CROSS, NO CilOWN. 11 

ble church of that age: he slighted their pretensions 
to Abraham and Moses, and plainly told them, that 
he that committeth sin, was the servant of sin. They 
did the devil's works, and therefore were the devil's 
children. The argument will always hold upon the 
same reasons, and therefore goo_d still: ''his servants 
you are, saith Paul, whom you ohey:"^ andsaith John 
to the church of old, "let no man deceive you; he that 
committeth sin is of the devil. "^ Was Judas ever the 
better christian, for crying. Hail, Master, and kissing 
Christ?^ By no means: they were the signal of his 
treachery; the token given, by which the bloody Jews 
should know and take him. He called him Master, 
but betrayed him; he kissed, but sold him to be killed; 
this is the upshot of the false christian's religion. If 
a man ask them. Is Christ your Lord? They will cry, 
God forbid else: yes, he is our Lord. Very well: But 
do you keep his commandments? No. How should 
we? How then are you his disciples? It is impossi- 
ble, say they; what! would you have us keep his com- 
mandments? No man can. What! impossible to do 
that, without which Christ hath made it impossible to 
be a christian? Is Christ unreasonable? Does he reap 
where he has not sown;^ require where he has not en- 
abled? Thus it is, that with Judas they call him 
Master, but take part with the evil of the world to 
betray him; and kiss and embrace him as far as spe- 
cious profession goes; and then sell him, to gratify 
the passion that they most indulge. Thus, as God said 
of old, they make him serve with their sins, and for 
their sins too.^ 

' Rom. vi. 16. ^ 1 Jolin iii. 7, 8. » Matt. xxvi. 49. 

* Matt. XXV. 24. ' Isa. xliii. 24 



12 

Sect. 6. Let no man deceive his own soul ; " grapes 
are not gathered of thorns, nor figs of thistles:^" a 
wolf is not a sheep, nor is a vulture a dove. What 
form, people, or church soever thou art of, it is the 
truth of God to mankind, that thej who have even 
the form of godliness, but (by their unmortified lives) 
deny the power thereof, make not the true, but false 
church: which though she intitle herself the lamb's 
bride, or church of Christ, she is that mystery or 
mysterious Babylon, fitly called by the Holy Ghost, 
the mother of harlots, and all abominations f because 
degenerated from christian chastity and purity, into 
all the enormities of heathen Babylon : a sumptuous 
city of old time, much noted for the seat of the kings 
of Babylon, and at that time the place in the world of 
greatest pride and luxury. As she was then, so mys- 
tical Babylon is now, the great enemy of God's people. 

Sect. 7. True it is, *' they that are born of the 
flesh, hate and persecute them that are born of the 
spirit,"^ who are the circumcision in heart. It seems 
they cannot own, nor worship God after her inven- 
tions, methods and prescriptions, nor receive ^for doc- 
trine her vain traditions, any more than they can 
comply with her corrupt fashions and customs in their 
conversation. The case being thus, from an apostate 
she becomes a persecutor. It is not enough that she 
herself declines from ancient purity, others must do 
so too. She will give them no rest, that will not par- 
take with her in that degeneracy, or receive her mark. 
Are any wiser than she, than mother church ? No, 
no : nor can any make war with the beast she rides 
upon, those worldly powers that protect her, and vow 

' Matt. vii. 16. ' Rev. xvii. 5. » Gal. iv. 29. 



13 

her maintenance against the cries of her dissenters. 
Apostacy and superstition are ever proud and impa- 
tient of dissent ; all must conform or perish.^ There- 
fore the slain witnesses, and blood of the souls under 
the altar, are found^within the walls of this mystical 
Babylon, this great city of false christians, and are 
charged upon her by the Holy Ghost, in the revela- 
tion. Nor is it strange that she should slay the ser- 
vants, who first crucified the Lord : but strange and 
barbarous too, that she should kill her husband, and 
murder her Saviour, titles she seems so fond of, and 
that have been so profitable to her ; and that she 
would recommend herself by, though without all jus- 
tice. But her children are reduced so entirely under 
the dominion of darkness, by means of their continued 
disobedience to the manifestation of the divine light 
in their souls, that they forget what man once was, or 
they should now be; and know not true and pure Chris- 
tianity when they meet it, yet pride themselves to 
profess it. Their measures are so carnal and false 
about salvation, they call good evil, and evil good ; 
they make a devil a christian, and a saint a devil. 
So that though the unrighteous latitude of their lives 
be matter of lamentation, as to themselves it is of de- 
struction; yet that common apprehension, that they 
may be children of God while in a state of disobedi- 
ence to his holy commandments ; and disciples of 
Jesus, though they revolt from his cross; and members 
of his true church, which is without spot or wrinkle, 
notwithstanding their lives are full of spots and 
wrinkles; is, of all other deceptions upon themselves, 
the most pernicious to their eternal condition. For 

Rev. vi. 9. 



14 

they are at peace in sin, and under a security in their 
transgression. Their vain hope silences their convic- 
tions, and over-lays all tender motions to repentance: 
so that their mistake about their duty to God, is as 
mischievous as their rebellion against him. 

Thus they walk on precipices, and flatter them- 
selves, till the grave swallows them up, and the judg- 
ment of the great God breaks the lethargy, and unde- 
ceives their poor wretched souls with the anguish of 
the wicked, as the reward of their work. 

Sect. 8. This has been, is, and will be the doom of 
all worldly christians: an end so dreadful, that if there 
were nothing of duty to God, or obligation to men, 
being a man, and one acquainted with the terrors of 
the Lord in the way and work of my own salvation, 
compassion alone were sufficient to excite me to this 
dissuasive against the world's superstitions and lusts, 
and to invite the professors of Christianity to the 
knowledge and obedience of the daily cross of Christ, 
as the alone way, left by him, and appointed us to 
blessedness : that they who now do but usurp the 
name, may have the thing ; and by the power of the 
cross (to which they are now dead, instead of being 
dead to the world by it) may be made partakers of 
the resurrection that is in Christ Jesus, unto newness 
of life. For they that are truly in Christ, that is re- 
deemed by and interested in him, are new creatures. 
They have received a new will,' such as does the will 
of God, not their own. They pray in truth, and do 
not mock God, when they say, ^' thy will be done in 
earth, as it is in heaven." They have new affec- 
tions, such as are set on things above,^ and make 

* Gal. vi. 15. ' Col. iii. 1. 2, 3. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 15 

Christ their eternal treasure. New faith such as 
overcomes snares and temptations of the world's spirit 
in themselves, or as it appears through others : and 
lastly, new works, not of superstitious contrivance, or 
of human invention, but the pure fruits of the spirit 
of Christ working in them, as love, joy, peace, meek- 
ness, long suffering, temperance, brotherly-kindness, 
faith, patience, gentleness and goodness, against which 
there is no law;^ and they that have not this spirit of 
Christ, and walk not in it, the apostle Paul has told 
us, are none of his ; but the wrath of God, and con- 
demnation of the law, will lie upon them. For if 
" there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ, 
who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit,"^ 
which is Paul's doctrine ; they that walk not accord- 
ing to that Holy Spirit, by his doctrine, are not in 
Christ : that is, have no interest in him, nor just claim 
to salvation by him: and consequently there is con- 
demnation to such. 

Sect. 9. And the truth is, the religion of the 
wicked is a lie : " there is no peace, saith the prophet, 
to the wicked."^ Indeed there can be none, they are 
reproved in their own consciences, and condemned in 
their own hearts, in all their disobedience. Go where 
they will, rebukes go with them, and oftentimes terrors 
too : for it is an offended God that pricks them, and 
who, by his light, sets their sins in order before them. 
Sometimes they strive to appease him, by their cor- 
poreal framed devotion and worship, but in vain; for 
true worshipping of God, is doing his will, which they 
transgress. The rest is a false compliment, like him 
that said he would go, and did not."* Sometimes they 

« ftal. V. 22, 23. ' Eom. viii, => Isa. xlviii. 22. ■• Matt. xxi. 30. 



16 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

flj to sports and company, to drown the reprover's 
voice, and blunt his arrows, to chase away troubled 
thoughts, and secure themselves out of the reach of 
the disquieter of their pleasures: but the Almighty 
first or last is sure to overtake them. There is no 
flying his final justice, for those that reject the terms 
of his mercy. Impenitent rebels to his law may then 
call to the mountains, and run to the caves of the 
earth for protection, but in vain: his all-searching eye 
will penetrate their thickest coverings, and strike up 
a light in that obscurity, which shall terrify their 
guilty souls ; and which they shall never be able to 
extinguish. Indeed their accuser is with them, they 
can no more be rid of him, than of themselves; he is 
in the midst of them, and will stick close to them. 
That spirit which bears witness with the spirits of the 
just, will bear witness against theirs. Nay, their own 
hearts will abundantly come in against them ; and, 
"If our heart condemn us, says the apostle John, 
God is greater, and knows all things:"^ that is, there 
is no escaping the judgments of God, whose power is 
infinite, if a man is not able to escape the condemna- 
tion of himself. It is at that day, proud and luxu- 
rious christians shall learn, that God is no respecter 
of persons ; that all sects and names shall be swal- 
lowed up in these two kinds, sheep and goats, just and 
unjust: and the very righteous must have a trial for 
it. Which made that holy man cry out, " If the 
righteous are scarcely saved, where shall the wicked 
and ungodly appear T"^ If their thoughts, words, 
and works must stand the test, and come under scru- 
tiny before the impartial judge of heaven and earth, 

* 1 John iii. 20. " 1 Pet. iv. 18. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 17 

how then should the ungodly be exempted ? No, we 
are told by him that cannot lie, many shall then even 
cry, Lord, Lord, set forth their profession, and re- 
count the works that have been done in his name, to 
make him propitious, and jet be rejected with this 
direful sentence, " Depart from me, ye workers of ini- 
quity, I know you not."^ As if he had said, Get you 
gone, you evil doers; though you have professed me, 
I will not know you : your vain and evil lives have 
made you unfit for my holy kingdom ; get you hence, 
and go to the gods whom you have served; your beloved 
lusts, which you have worshipped, and the evil world 
that you have so much coveted and adored : let them 
save you now, if they can, from the wrath to come 
upon you, which is the wages of the deeds you have 
done. Here is the end of their work that build upon 
the sand, the breath of the judge will blow it down ; 
and woful will the fall thereof be. Oh, it is now, 
that the righteous have the better of the wicked ! 
which made an apostate cry in old time, " Let me die 
the death of the righteous, and let my last end be 
like unto his."^ For the sentence is changed, and the 
judge smiles : he casts the eye of love upon his own 
sheep, and invites them with a " come ye blessed of 
my Father, "2 that through patient continuance in well- 
doing, have long waited for immortality : you have 
been the true companions of my tribulations and 
cross, and with unwearied faithfulness, in obedience 
to my holy will, valiantly endured to the end, looking 
to me, the author of your precious faith, for the re- 
compense of reward, that I have promised to them 
that love me, and faint not: " enter ye into the joy 

» Mat. vii. 23. ^ Numb, xxiii. ]0. * Matt. xxv. 34. 

9 



18 ' NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

of your Lord, and inherit the kingdom prepared for 
you from the foundation of the world." 

Sect. 10. Christendom ! my soul most fervently 
prays, that after all thy lofty professions of Christ 
and his meek and holy religion, thy unsuitable and 
un-christ-like life may not cast thee at that great assize 
of the world, and lose thee so great salvation at last. 
Hear me once, I beseech thee. Can Christ be thy 
Lord, and thou not obey him ? Or, canst thou be his 
servant, and never serve him? "Be not deceived, 
such as thou sowest shalt thou reap :"^ he is none of 
thy Saviour, whilst thou rejectest his grace in thy 
heart, by which he should save thee. Come, what 
has he saved thee from ? Has he saved thee from 
thy sinful lusts, thy worldly affections and vain con- 
versations ? If not, then he is none of thy Saviour. 
For though he be offered a Saviour to all, yet he is 
actually a Saviour to those only, that are saved by 
him ; and none are saved by him, that live in those 
evils, by which they are lost from God, and which he 
came to save them from. 

It is sin that Christ is come to save man from, and 
death and wrath, as the wages of it : but those that 
are not saved, that is, delivered by the power of Christ 
in their souls, from the power that sin has had over 
them, can never be saved from the death and Avrath, 
that are the assured wages of the sin they live in. 

So that, look how far people obtain victory over 
those evil dispositions and fleshly lusts they have been 
addicted to, so far they are truly saved, and are wit- 
nesses of the redemption that comes by Jesus Christ. 
His name shews this work : " and thou shalt call hi& 

' Gal. vi. 7. 



19 

name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their 
sins."^ "And lo (said John of Christ) the lamb of 
God that takes away the sin of the world !"^ that is, 
behold him, whom God hath given to enlighten people, 
and for salvation to as many as receive him, and his 
light and grace in their hearts, and take up their daily 
cross, and follow him : such as rather deny themselves 
the pleasure of fulfilling their lusts, than sin against 
the knowledge he has given them of his will ; or do 
that they know they ought not to do. 



CHAPTER II. 

Sect. 1. By this Christendom may see her lapse, how foul it is ; and 
next, the worse for her pretence of Christianity'. 2. But there is 
mercy with God upon repentance, and propitiation in the blood of 
Jesus. 3. He is the light of the world, that reproves the darkness, 
that is, the evil of the world ; and he is to he known within. 4. Chris- 
tendom, like the inn of old, is full of other guests : she is advised to 
believe in, receive and apply to Christ. 5. Of the nature of true faith ; 
it brings power to overcome every appearance of evil : this leads to 
consider the cross of Christ, which has been so much wanted. 6, The 
apostolic ministry, and end of it ; its blessed effect ; the character of 
apostolic times. 7. The glory of the cross, and its triumph over the 
heathen world. A measure to Christendom, what she is not, and 
should be. 8. Her declension, and cause of it. 9. The miserable 
effects that followed. 10. From the consideration of the cause, the 
cure may be more easily known, viz. not faithfully taking up the daily 
cross ; then faithfully taking it daily up, must be the remedy. 

Sect. 1. By all which has been said, Christen- 
dom ! and by that better help, if thou wouldst use it, 
the lamp the Lord has lighted in thee, not utterly ex- 
tinct, it may evidently appear, first, how great and foul 
thy backsliding has been, who, from the temple of the 
Lord, art become a cage of unclean birds ; and of an 
house of prayer, a den of thieves, a synagogue of 

J Matt. i. 21. ' John i. 29. 



20 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

Satan, and the receptacle of eA^ery defiled spirit. 
Next that, under all this manifest defection, thou hast 
nevertheless valued thy corrupt self upon thy profes- 
sion of Christianity and fearfully deluded thyself with 
the hopes of salvation. The first makes thy disease 
dangerous, but the last almost incurable. 

Sect. 2. Yet because there is mercy with the God 
of bowels, that he may be feared, and that he takes 
no delight in the eternal death of poor sinners, no, 
though backsliders themselves, but is willing all 
should come to the knowledge and obedience of the 
truth, and be saved. He has sent forth his son a pro- 
pitiation, and given him a Saviour to take away the 
sins of the whole world, that those that believe and 
follow him may feel the righteousness of God in the 
remission of their sins, and blotting out their trans- 
gressions for ever.^ Now, behold the remedy ! an 
infallible cure, one of God's appointing ; a precious 
elixir indeed, that never failed : and that universal 
medicine which no malady could ever escape. 

Sect. 3. But thou wilt say, what is Christ, and 
where is he to be found? And how received and 
applied in order to this mighty cure? I tell thee then: 
first, he is the great spiritual light of the world, that 
enlightens every one that comes into the world ; by 
which he manifests to them their deeds of darkness 
and wickedness, and reproves them for committing 
them. Secondly, he is not far away from thee, as 
the apostle Paul said of God to the Athenians : behold 
(says Christ himself) "I stand at the door and knock; 
if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will 

» Ezek. xviii. 20, 23, 24. Matt. i. 21. Luke i. 77. Rom. iii. 25. 
Heb. ix. 24 to 28. 1 John ii. 1, 2. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 21 

come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me."* 
What door can this be, but that of the heart of man ? 

Sect. 4. Thou, like the inn of old, hast been full of 
other guests : thy affections have entertained other 
lovers : there has been no room for thy Saviour in 
thy soul. Wherefore salvation is not yet come into 
thy house, though it is come to thy door, and thou 
hast been often proffered it, and hast professed it long. 
But if he calls, if he knocks still, that is, if his light 
yet shines, if it reproves thee still, there is hopes thy 
day is not over ; and that repentance is not hid from 
thine eyes ; but his love is after thee still, and his holy 
invitation continues to save thee. 

Wherefore, Christendom ! believe, receive, and 
apply him rightly ; this is of absolute necessity, that 
thy soul may live for ever with him. He told the 
Jews, " If you believe not that I am he, ye shall die 
in your sins ; and whither I go ye cannot come."^ 
And because they believed him not, they did not re- 
ceive him nor any benefit by him : but they that be- 
lieved him, received him : " and as many as received 
him," his own beloved disciple tells us, " to them gave 
he power to become the sons of God, which are born 
not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will 
of man, but of God."^ That is, who are not children 
of God after the fashions, prescriptions, and traditions 
of men, that call themselves his church and people 
(which is not after the will of flesh and blood, and the 
invention of carnal man, unacquainted with the re- 
generation and power of the Holy Ghost) but of God; 
that is, according to his will, and the working and 
sanctification of his spirit and word of life in them. 

Acts xvii. 27. Rev. iii. 20. ^ John viii. 22, 24. a John i. 12, 13. 



22 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

And such were ever well versed in the right applica- 
tion of Christ, for he was made to them indeed pro- 
pitiation, reconciliation, salvation, righteousness, re- 
demption and justification. 

So I say to thee, unless thou believest, that he that 
stands at the door of thy heart and knocks, and sets 
thy sins in order before thee, and calls thee to repent- 
ance, be the Saviour of the world, thou wilt die in thy 
sins, and where he is gone, thou wilt never come. 
For if thou believest not in him, it is impossible that 
he should do thee good, or effect thy salvation: Christ 
works not against faith but by it. It is said of old, 
he did not many mighty works in some places, be- 
cause the people believed not in him.* So that if 
thou truly believest in him, thine ear will be atten- 
tive to his voice in thee, and the door of thine heart 
open to his knocks. Thou wilt yield to the discoveries 
of his light, and the teachings of his grace will be very 
dear to thee. 

Sect. 5. It is the nature of true faith to beget an 
holy fear of offending God, a deep reverence to his 
precepts, and a most tender regard to the inward 
testimony of his spirit, as that, by which his children, 
in all ages, have been safely led to glory. For as 
they that truly believe, receive Christ in all his 
tenders to the soul, so, as true it is, that those who 
receive him thus, with him, receive power to become 
the sons of God : that is, an inward force and ability 
to do whatever he requires : strength to mortify their 
lusts, controul their affections, resist evil motions, 
deny themselves, and overcome the world in its most 
enticing appearances. This is the life of the blessed 

^ Mark vi 5. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 23 

Cross of Christ, which is the subject of the following 
discourse, and what thou, man, must take up, if 
thou intendest to be the disciple of Jesus. Nor canst 
thou be said to receive Christ, or believe in him, whilst 
thou rejectest his cross. For as receiving of Christ is 
the means appointed of God to salvation, so bearing 
thy daily cross after him is the only true testimony of 
receiving him ; and therefore it is enjoined by him, as 
the great token of discipleship, " Whosoever will be 
my disciple, let him take up his daily cross, and follow 
me."^ 

This, Christendom, is that thou hast so much wanted, 
and the want of which has proved the only cause of 
thy miserable declension from pure Christianity. To 
consider which well, as it is thy duty, so it is of great 
use to thy restoration. 

For as the knowledge of the cause of any distemper 
guides the physician to make a right and safe judg- 
ment in the application of his medicine, so it will 
much enlighten thee in the way of thy recovery, to 
know and weigh the first cause of thy spiritual lapse 
and malady that has befallen thee. To do which, a 
general view of thy primitive estate, and consequently 
of their work that first laboured in the christian vine- 
yard, will be needful; and if therein something be 
repeated, the weight and dignity of the subject will 
bear it without the need of an apology. 

Sect. 6. The work of apostleship, we are told by a 
prime labourer in it, was to turn people " from dark- 
ness to light, and from the power of Satan unto 
God."^ That is, instead of yielding to the tempta- 
tions and motions of Satan, who is the prince of dark- 

1 Matt. xvi. 2i. a Acts xxvi. 18. 



24 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

ness (or wickedness, the one being a metaphor to the 
other) by whose power their understandings were 
obscured, and their souls held in the service of sin, 
they should turn their minds to the appearance of 
Christ, the light and Saviour of the world ; who by 
his light shines in their souls, and thereby gives them 
a sight of their sins, and discovers every temptation 
and motion in them unto evil, and reproves them 
when they give way thereunto ; that so they might 
become the children of light, and walk in the path of 
righteousness. And for this blessed work of reforma- 
tion, did Christ endue his apostles with his spirit and 
power, that so men might not longer sleep in a secur- 
ity of sin and ignorance of God, but awake to righte- 
ousness, that the Lord Jesus might give them life : 
that is, that they might leave off sinning, deny them- 
selves the pleasure of wickedness, and by true re- 
pentance turn their hearts to God, in well-doing, in 
which is peace. And truly, God so blessed the faith- 
ful labours of these poor mechanics, yet his great 
ambassadors to mankind, that in a few years many 
thousands, that had lived without God in the world, 
without a sense or fear of him, lawlessly, very 
strangers to the work of his spirit in their hearts, 
being captivated by fleshly lusts, were inwardly struck 
and quickened by the word of life, and made sensible 
of the coming and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, as 
a judge and lawgiver in their souls ; by whose holy 
light and spirit, the hidden things of darkness were 
brought to light and condemned, and pure repentance 
from those dead works begotten in them, that they 
might serve the living God in newness of sprit. So 
that thenceforward they lived not to themselves. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 25 

neither were they carried away of those former divers 
lusts, by which they had been seduced from the true 
fear of God; but the law of the spirit of life, by which 
they overcame the law of sin and death, was their de- 
light, and therein did they meditate day and night.* 
Their regard towards God was not taught by the 
precepts of men any longer, but from the knowledge 
they had received by his own work and impressions in 
their souls.^ They had not quitted their old masters, 
the world, the flesh, and the devil, and delivered up 
themselves to the holy guidance of the grace of Christ, 
that taught them to deny ungodliness, and the world's 
lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in 
this present life f this is the Cross of Christ indeed ; 
and here is the victory it gives to them that take it 
up : by this cross they died daily to the old life they 
had lived; and by holy watchfulness against the 
secret motions of evil in their hearts, they crushed sin 
in its conceptions, yea in its temptations. So that 
they, as the apostle John advised them, kept them- 
selves, and the evil one touched them not.'' 

For the light, which Satan cannot endure, and with 
which Christ had enlightened them, discovered him in 
all his approaches and assaults upon the mind, and the 
power they received through their inward obedience to 
the manifestations of that blessed light, enabled them 
to resist and vanquish him in all his stratagems. And 
thus it was, that where once nothing was examined, no- 
thing went unexamined. Every thought must come 
to judgment, and the rise and tendency of it be also 
well approved, before they allow it any room in their 

1 Rom. viii. 2. ^ Isa. xsix. 13. 

' Tit. 11, 12. " 1 John v. 18. 



26 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

minds. There was no fear of entertaining enemies 
for friends, whilst this strict guard was kept upon the 
very wicket of their soul. Now the old heavens and 
earth, that is, the old earthly conversation, and old 
carnal, that is Jewish or shadowy worship, passed 
away apace, and every day all things became new. 
"He was no more a Jew, that was one outwardly, nor 
that circumcision that was in the flesh; but he was the 
Jew, that was one inwardly; and that circumcision, 
which was of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the 
letter, whose praise is not of man but of god. "^ 

Sect. 7. Indeed the glory of the Cross shined so 
conspicuously through the self-denial of their lives who 
daily bore it, that it struck the heathen with astonish- 
ment, and in a small time so shook their altars, dis- 
credited their oracles, struck the multitude, invaded 
the court and overcame their armies, that it led priests, 
magistrates, and generals, in triumph after it, as the 
trophies of its power and victory. 

And while this integrity dwelt with christians, mighty 
was the presence and invincible that power that at- 
tended them: it quenched fire, daunted lions, turned 
the edge of the sword, out-faced instruments of cruelty, 
convicted judges, and converted executioners. In fine, 
the ways their enemies took to destroy, increased them; 
and by the deep wisdom of God, they were made great 
promoters of the truth, who in all their designs endea- 
voured to extinguish it. Now not a vain thought nor 
an idle word, nor an unseemly action was permitted: 
no, not an immodest look; no courtly dress, gay ap- 
parel, complimental respects, or personal honours; 
much less those lewd immoralities, and scandalous 

1 Rom. ii. 28, 29. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 27 

vices now in vogue with christians, could find either 
example or connivance among them.^ Their care was 
not how to sport away their precarious time, but how 
to redeem it, that they might have enough to work 
out their great salvation, which they c refully did, 
with fear and trembling;^ not with balls and masks, 
with play-houses, dancing, feasting, and gaming, no, 
not to make sure of their heavenly calling and elec- 
tion, was much dearer to them, than the poor and 
trifling joys of mortality. For they having with 
Moses seen him that is invisible, and found that his 
loving-kindness was better than life, the peace of his 
spirit than the favour of princes ; as they feared not 
Caesar's wrath, so they chose rather to sustain the 
afflictions of Christ's true pilgrims, than enjoy the 
pleasures of sin, that were but for a season ; esteem- 
ing his reproaches of more value than the perishing 
treasures of the earth. And if the tribulations of 
Christianity were more eligible than the comforts of 
the world, and the reproaches of one than all the 
honour of the other ; there was then surely no tempta- 
tion in it, that could shake the integrity of Christen- 
dom. 

Sect. 8. By this short draught of what Christen- 
dom was, thou mayst see, Christendom, what thou 
art not, and consequently what thou oughtest to be. 
But how comes it, that from a Christendom that was 
thus meek, merciful, self-denying, suffering, temperate, 
holy, just, and good, so like to Christ, whose name she 
bore,'^we find a Christendom now, that is superstitious, 

^ Heb. xi. 32, to the end, Isa. Ixiii. 2. Dan. iii. 12, to the end. Dan. 
vi. 16, to the end. 
2 Eph. V. 15, 16. 



28 

idolatrous, persecuting, proud, passionate, envious, ma- 
licious, selfish, drunken, lascivious, unclean, lying, 
swearing, cursing, covetous, oppressing, defraudii^, 
with all other abominations known in the earth, and 
that to an excess justly scandalous to the worst of 
heathen ages, surpassing them more in evil than in 
time ; I say, how comes this lamentable defection? 

I lay this down, as the undoubted reason of this de- 
generacy, to wit, the inward disregard of thy mind to 
the light of Christ shining in thee ; that first shewed 
thee thy sins, and reproved them, and that taught and 
enabled thee to deny and resist them. For as thy 
fear towards God, and holy abstinence from unrighte- 
ousness was, at first, not taught by the precepts of 
men, but by that light and grace, which revealed the 
most secret thoughts and purposes of thine heart, and 
searched the most inward part of thy belly, setting 
thy sins in order before thee, and reproving thee for 
them, not suffering one unfruitful thought, word or 
work of darkness, to go unjudged, so v/hen thou didst 
begin to disregard that light and grace, to be careless 
about that holy watch, that was once set up in thine 
heart, and didst not keep centinel there, as formerly, 
for God's glory and thy own peace; the restless enemy 
of man's good quickly took advantage of this slack- 
ness, and often surprised thee with temptations, whose 
suitableness to thy inclinations made his conquest over 
thee not difficult. 

In short, thou didst omit to take up Christ's holy 
yoke, to bear thy daily cross ; thou wast careless of 
thy affections, and kept no journal or check upon thy 
actions ; but didst decline to audit accounts, in thy 
own conscience, with Christ thy light, the great bishop 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 29 

of thy soul, and judge of thy works, -sv'herehy the holy 
fear decayed, and love waxed cold ; vanity abounded, 
and duty became burdensome. Then up came for- 
mality instead of the power of godliness; superstition, 
in place of Christ's institution ; and whereas Christ's 
business was, to draw off the minds of his^ disciples 
from an outward temple, and carnal rites and services, 
to the inward and spiritual worship of God, suitable 
to the nature of divinity, a worldly, human, pompous 
worship is brought in again, and a worldly priesthood, 
temple and altar re-established. Now it was that the 
"sons of God once more saw the daughters of men 
were fair:"^ that is, the pure eye grew dim, which 
repentance had opened, that saw no comeliness out of 
Christ; and the eye of lust became unclosed again, by 
the god of the world; and those worldly pleasures, 
that make such as love them forget God (though 
once despised for the sake of Christ) began now to 
recover their old beauty and interest in thy affections; 
and from liking them, to be the study, care, and plea- 
sure of thy life. 

True, there still remained the exterior forms of wor- 
ship, and a nominal and oral reverence to God and 
Christ ; but that was all : for the offence of the holy 
cross ceased, the power of godliness was denied, self- 
denial lost ; and though fruitful in the invention of 
ceremonious ornaments, yet barren in the blessed fruits 
of the Spirit. And a thousand shells cannot make 
one kernel, or many dead corpses one living man. 

Sect. 9. Thus religion fell from experience to tra- 
dition, and worship from power to form, from life to 
letter; that instead of putting up lively and powerful 

1 Gen. vi. 2. 



30 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

requests, animated by the deep sense of want, and the 
assistance of the Holy Spirit, by which the ancients 
prayed, wrestled and prevailed with God; behold a 
by~rote mumpsimus, a dull and insipid formality, made 
up of corporeal bowings, and cringings, garments and 
furnitures, perfumes, voices and music, fitter for the 
reception of some earthly prince, than the heavenly 
worship of the only true and immortal God, who is an 
eternal, invisible spirit. 

But thy heart growing carnal, thy religion did so 
too ; and not liking it as it was, thou fashionedst it 
to thy liking ; forgetting what the holy prophet said, 
" the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the 
Lord,"^ and what James saith, " Ye ask, and ye re- 
ceive not," (why ?) '' because ye ask amiss ;"^ that 
is, with an heart that is not right, but insincere, un- 
rnortified, not in the faith that purifies the soul, and 
therefore can never receive what is asked: so that a 
man may say with truth, thy condition is worse by 
thy religion, because thou art tempted to think thy- 
self the better for it, and art not. 

Sect. 10. Well ; by this prospect that is given 
thee, of thy foul fall from primitive Christianity, and 
the true cause of it, to wit, a neglect of the daily cross 
of Christ, it may be easy for thee to inform thyself 
of the way of thy recovery. 

For look, at what door thou wentest out, at that 
door thou must come in : and as letting fall, and for- 
bearing the daily cross lost thee ; so taking up, and 
enduring the daily cross, must recover thee. It is 
the same way, by which the sinners and apostates 
become the disciples of Jesus. '•' Whosoever, (says 

^ Prov. XV. 8. * James iv. 3. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 31 

Christ) will come after me, and be mj disciple, let 
him deny himself, and take up his daily cross, and 
follow me."^ Nothing short of this will do; mark 
that, for as it is sufficient so is it indispensable : no 
crown, but by the Cross ; no life eternal, but through 
death : and it is but just, that those evil and barba- 
rous affections, that crucified Christ afresh, should by 
his holy cross be crucified. Blood requires blood; 
his cross is the death of sin, that caused his death ; 
and he the death of death, according to that passage, 
death ! I will be thy death I^ 



CHAPTER III. 

Sect. 1. "What the cross of Christ is ? A figurative speech, but truly the 
divine power, that mortifies the world. 2. It is so called by the apos- 
tle Paul to the Corinthians. 3. Where it is the cross appears, and 
must be borne ? Within, where the lusts are, there they must be cru- 
cified. 4. Experience teaches every one this, to be sure Christ asserts 
it, from within comes murder, <fcc. and that is the house where the 
strong man must be bound. 5. How is the cross to be borne? The 
way is spiritual, a denial of self, the pleasure of sin, to please God and 
obey his will, as manifested to the soul by the light he gives it. 6. 
This shows the difficulty, yet the necessity of the cross. 

The daily cross being then, and still, Christen- 
dom, the way to glory ; that the succeeding matter, 
which wholly relates to the doctrine of it, may come 
with most evidence and advantage upon thy conscience, 
it is most seriously to be considered by thee, 

First, What the cross of Christ is ? 

Secondly, Where the cross of Christ is to be taken 



up? 



1 Matt. xvi. 24. Mark viii. 34. Luke ix. 23, & xiv. 2V. 
" Hos. xiii. 14. 1 Cor. xv. 55. 



32 

Thirdly, How, and after what manner it is to be 
borne? 

Fourthly, What is the great work and business of 
the cross ? In which 

The sins it crucifies, with the mischiefs that attend 
them, will be at large expressed. 

Fifthly, and lastly, I shall add many testimonies 
from living and dying persons, of great reputation 
either for their quality, learning, or piety, as a gene- 
ral confirmation of the whole tract. 

To the first, what is the cross of Christ ? 

Sect. 1. The cross of Christ is a figurative speech, 
borrowed from the outward tree, or wooden cross, on 
which Christ submitted to the will of God, in permit- 
ting him to sufier death at the hands of evil men. So 
that the cross mystical, is that divine grace and power, 
which crosses the carnal wills of men, and gives a 
contradiction to their corrupt afi"ections, and that con- 
stantly opposeth itself to the inordinate and fleshly 
appetite of their minds, and so may be justly termed 
the instrument of man's holy dying to the world, and 
being made conformable to the will of God. For 
nothing else can mortify sin, or make it easy for us 
to submit to the divine will, in things otherwise very 
contrary to our own. 

Sect. 2. The preaching of the cross therefore in 
primitive times was fitly called by Paul, that famous 
and skilful apostle in spiritual things, the power of 
God ; though to them that perish, then, as now, fool- 
ishness. That is, to those that were truly weary and 
heavy laden, and needed a deliverer : to whom sin 
was burdensome and odious, the preaching of the 
cross, by which sin was to be mortified, was, as to 



NO CROSS, ko CROWN. 33 

them, the power of God, or a preaching of the divine 
power, by which they were made disciples of Christ, 
and children of God : and it wrought so powerfully 
upon them, that no proud or licentious mockers could 
put them out of love with it. But to those that walked 
in the broad way, in the full latitude of their lusts, 
and dedicated their time and care to the pleasure of 
their corrupt appetites, to whom all yoke and bridle 
were and are intolerable, the preaching of the cross 
was, and is, foolishness : to which I may add, in the 
name but of too many now-a-days, and the practice 
ridiculous ; embraced by none, if they may be believed, 
but half-witted people of stingy and singular tempers, 
affected by the hypochondria, and oppressed with the 
power of melancholy ; for all this, and more, is be- 
stowed upon the life of the blessed cross of Christ, in 
the persons of those who truly bear it, by the very pro- 
fessors and pretended admirers of it. 

Sect. 3. Well, but then where does this cross ap- 
pear, and must it be taken up ? 

I answer within : that is, in the heart and soul ; for 
where the sin is, the cross must be. Now, all evil 
comes from within : this Christ taught. " From 
within (saith Christ) out of the heart of men proceed 
evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, 
covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an 
evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness : all these evils 
come from within, and defile the man."* 

The heart of man is the seat of sin, and where he 
is defiled, he must be sanctified; and where sin lives, 
there it must die ; it must be crucified. Custom in 
evil hath made it natural for men to do evil ; and as 

1 Mark vii. 21, 22, 23. 



the soul rules the body, so this corrupt nature sways 
the whole man : but still, it is all from within. 

Sect. 4. Experience teaches every son and daugh- 
ter of Adam an assent to this ; for the enemies' temp- 
tations are ever directed to the mind, which is Avithin : 
if they take not, the soul sins not ; if they are em- 
braced, lust is presently conceived (that is, inordinate 
desires) " lust conceived, brings forth sin ; and sin 
finished (that is, acted) brings forth death. "^ Here 
is both the cause and the effect, the very genealogy 
of sin, its rise and end. 

In all this, the heart of evil man is the devil's mint, 
his work-house, the place of his residence, where he 
exercises his power and art. And therefore the re- 
demption of the soul is aptly called, the destruction 
of the works of the devil, and bringing in of everlast- 
ing righteousness.^ When the Jews would have 
defamed Christ's miracle of casting out devils, by a 
blasphemous imputation of it to the power of Beelze- 
bub, hC'Says, ''That no man can enter a strong man's 
house, and spoil his goods, till he first bind the strong 
man."^ Which as it shews the contrariety that was 
between Beelzebub, and the power by which he dis- 
possessed him ; so it teaches us to know, that the 
souls of the wicked are the devil's house, and that his 
goods, his evil works, can never be destroyed, till 
first he that wrought them, and keeps the house, be 
bound. All which makes it easy to know, where 
the cross must be taken up, by which alone the strong 
man must be bound, his goods spoiled, and his temp- 
tations resisted : this is, within, in the heart of man. 

1 James i. 15. ' John iii. 8. ^ Mark iii. 27. 



35 

Sect. 5. But in the next place, how, and in what 
manner is the cross to be daily borne ? 

The way, like the cross, is spiritual : that is, an in- 
ward submission of the soul to the will of God, as it is 
manifested by the light of Christ in the consciences of 
men : though it be contrary to their own inclinations. 
Eor example : when evil presents, that which shews 
the evil does also tell them they should not yield to 
it ; and if they close with its counsel, it gives them 
power to escape it. But they that look and gaze 
upon the temptation, at last fall in with it, and are 
overcome by it; the consequence of which is guilt 
and judgment. Therefore as the cross of Christ is 
that spirit and power in men, though not of men, but 
of God, which crosseth and reproveth their fleshly 
lusts and affections ; so the way of taking up the 
cross is, an entire resignation of soul to the disco- 
veries and requirings of it ; not to consult their 
worldly pleasure, or carnal ease, or interest (for such 
are captivated in a moment) but continually to watch 
against the very appearances of evil, and by the obe- 
dience of faith, that is, of true love to and confidence 
in God, cheerfully to offer up, to the death of the 
cross, that evil part, that Judas in themselves, which, 
not enduring the heat of the siege, and being impa- 
tient in the hour of temptation, would, by its near 
relation to the tempter, more easily betray their souls 
into his hands. 

Sect. 6. this shews to every experience, how 
hard it is to be a true disciple of Jesus ! the way 
is narrow indeed, and the gate very strait, where 
not a word, no, not a thought must slip the watch, 
or escape judgment; such circumspection, such cau- 



36 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

tion, such patience, such constancy, such holy fear 
and trembling. This gives an easy interpretation to 
that hard saying, " flesh and blood cannot inherit the 
kingdom of God :"^ those that are captivated with 
fleshly lusts and afi"ections ; for they cannot bear the 
cross ; and they that cannot endure the cross, must 
never have the crown. To reign, it is necessary first 
to suffer.^ 



CHAPTER IV. 

Sect. 1. What is the great work of the cross? The answer to this of 
great moment. 2. The work of the cross is self-denial. 3. What was 
the cup and cross of Christ ? 4. What is our cup and cross? 5. Our 
duty is to follow Christ as our captain. 6. Of the distinction upon self, 
a lawful and unlawful self. 7. What the lawful self is. 8. That is to 
be denied in some cases, by Christ's doctrine and example. 9. By the 
apostles' pattern. 10. The danger of preferring lawful self above our 
duty to God. 11. The reward of self-denial, an excitement to it. 12. 
This doctrine as old as Abraham. 13. His obedience of faith mem- 
orable. 14. Job a great instance of self-denial, his contentment. 15. 
Moses also a mighty example, his neglect of Pharaoh's court. 16. 
His choice. 17. The reason of it, viz. the recompense of reward. 18. 
Isaiah no inconsiderable instance, who of a courtier became an holy 
prophet. 19. These instances concluded with that of holy Daniel, his 
patience and integrity, and the success they had upon the king, 20. 
There might be many mentioned to confirm this blessed doctrine. 21. 
All must be left for Christ, as men would be saved. 22. The way of 
God is a way of faith and self-denial. An earnest supplication and 
exhortation to all to attend upon these things. 

But, fourthly, what is the great work and business 
of the cross, respecting man ? 

Sect. 1. This indeed is of that mighty moment to 
be truly, plainly, and thoroughly answered, that all 
that went before seems only to serve for preface to it; 
and miscarrying in it, to be no less than a misguidance 

1 Matt. xxiv. 42; xxv. 13; xxvi. 38, 42. 2 Phil. ii. 12. 1 Th. iii. 5. 
1 Cor. XV. 50. 



37 

of the soul about its way to blessedness. I shall there- 
fore pursue the question, with God's help, and the 
best knowledge he hath given me, in the experience of 
several years' discipleship. 

The great work and business of the cross of Christ, 
in man, is self-denial ; a word of as much depth in it- 
self, so of sore contraction to the world ; little under- 
stood, but less embraced by it ; yet it must be borne 
for all that. The Son of God is gone before us, and 
by the bitter cup he drank, and baptism he suffered, 
has left us an example, that we should follow his steps. 
Which made him put that hard question to the wife 
of Zebedee and her two sons, upon her soliciting that 
one might sit at his right, and the other at his left 
hand in his kingdom ; " are ye able to drink of the 
cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the 
baptism I am baptized with?"^ It seems their faith 
was strong ; they answered, we are able. Upon which 
he replied, " Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be 
baptized with the baptism I am baptized with ;" but 
their reward he left to his father. 

Sect. 3. What was his cup he drank, and baptism 
he suffered ? I answer ; they were the denial and of- 
fering up of himself by the eternal spirit to the will of 
God, undergoing the tribulations of his life, and ago- 
nies of his death, upon the cross, for mans salvation. 

Sect. 4. What is our cup and cross that we should 
drink and suffer ? They are the denying and offer- 
ing up of ourselves, by the same spirit, to do or suffer 
the will of God for his service and glory : which is the 
true life and obedience of the cross of Jesus : narrow 
still, but before, an unbeaten way. For when there 

1 Matt. XX. 21, 22, 23. 



38 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

was none to help, not one to open the seals, to give 
knowledge, to direct the course of poor man's reco- 
very, he came in the greatness of his love and strength, 
and though clothed with the infirmities of a mortal 
man; being within fortified by the Almightiness of an 
immortal God, he travelled through all the straits and 
difficulties of humanity ; and first, of all others, trod 
the untrodden path to blessedness. 

Sect. 5. come let us follow him, the most un- 
wearied, the most victorious -captain of our salvation! 
to whom all the great Alexanders and mighty Caesars 
of the world are less than the poorest soldiers of their 
camps could be to them. True, they were all great 
princes of their kind, and conquerors too, but on very 
different principles. For Christ made himself of no 
reputation to save mankind ; but these, plentifully 
ruined people, to augment theirs. They vanquished 
others, not themselves ; Christ conquered self, that 
ever vanquished them ; of merit therefore the most ex- 
cellent prince and conqueror. Besides, they advanced 
their empire by rapine and blood, but he by suffering 
and persuasion ; he never by compulsion, they always 
by force prevailed. Misery and slavery followed all 
their victories ; his brought greater freedom and feli- 
city to those he overcame. In all they did, they 
sought to please themselves ; in all he did, he aimed 
to please his Father, who is God of gods, King of 
kings, and Lord of lords. 

It is this most perfect pattern of self-denial we 
must follow, if ever we will come to glory : to do 
which, le^ us consider self-denial in its true distinction 
and extent. 

Sect. 6. There is a lawful and unlawful self, and 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 39 

both must be denied, for the sake of him, that in sub- 
mission to the will of God counting nothing dear, that 
he might save us. And though the world be scarcely 
in any part of it at that pass, as yet to need that lesson 
of the denial of lawful self, that every day most gree- 
dily sacrifices to the pleasure of unlawful self: yet to 
take the whole thing before me, and for that it may 
possibly meet with some that are so far advanced in 
this spiritual warfare, as to receive some service from 
it, I shall at least touch upon it. 

Sect. 7. The lawful self, which we are to deny, is 
that conveniency, ease, enjoyment and plenty, which 
in themselves are so far from being evil, that they are 
the bounty and blessings of God to us : as husband, 
wife, child, house, land, reputation, liberty, and life 
itself; these are God's favours, which we may enjoy 
with lawful pleasure, and justly improve as our honest 
interest. But when God requires them, at what time 
soever the lender calls for them, or is pleased to try 
our affections by our parting with them ; I say, when 
they are brought in competition with him, they must 
not be preferred, they must be denied. Christ him- 
self descended from the glory of his Father, and wil- 
lingly made himself of no reputation among men, that 
he might make us of some with God; and, from the 
quality of thinking it no robbery to be equal with 
God/ he humbled himself to the poor form of a ser- 
vant ; yea, the ignominious death of the cross, that 
he might deliver us an example of pure humility, and 
entire submission to the will of our heavenly Father. 

Sect. 8. It is the doctrine he teaches us in these 
words : " He that loveth father or mother, son or 

1 Phil. ii. 5, 6, 7, 8, 



40 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

daughter, more than me, he is not worthy of me."^ 
Again, " Whosoever he be of you, that forsaketh not 
all that he hath, cannot be my disciple."^ And he 
plainly told the young rich man, that if he would have 
eternal life, he should sell all, and follow him : a doc- 
trine sad to him, as it is to those that like him, for 
all their high pretences to religion, in truth love their 
possessions more than Christ. This doctrine of self- 
denial is the condition to eternal happiness : " He 
that will come after me, let him deny himself, and 
take up his cross and follow me."^ Let him do as I 
do : as if he had said, he must do as I do, or he cannot 
be as I am, the Son of God. 

Sect. 9. This made those honest fishermen quit 
their lawful trades, and follow him, when he called 
them to it ; and others, that waited for the consola- 
tion of Israel, to oiFer up their estates, reputations, 
liberties, and also lives to the displeasure and fury 
of their kindred, and the government they lived 
under, for the spiritual advantage that accrued to 
them, by their faithful adherence to his holy doctrine. 
True, many would have excused their following of 
him in that parable of the feast : some had bought 
land, some had married wives, and others had bought 
yokes of oxen, and could not come;'' that is, an. im- 
moderate love of the world hindered them ; their 
lawful enjoyments from servants, became their idols ; 
they worshipped them more than God, and would not 
quit them to come to God. But this is recorded to 
their reproach : and we may herein see the power of 
self upon the worldly man, and the danger that comes 

» Matt. X. 37. Luke xiv. 33. « Mark x. 21, 22. 

» Matt. xvi. 24. * Luke xiv. 18, 19, 20. 



41 

to him bj the abuse of lawful things. What, thy wife 
dearer to thee than thj Saviour ! and thy land and 
oxen preferred before thy soul's salvation ! beware, 
that thy comforts prove not snares first, and then 
curses; to over-rate them, is to provoke him that gave 
them to take them away again ; come and follow him 
that giveth life eternal to the soul. 

Sect. 10. Wo to them that have their hearts in 
their earthly possessions ! for when they are gone, 
their heaven is gone with them. It is too much the 
sin of the best part of the world, that they stick in 
the comforts of it : and it is lamentable to behold how 
their affections are bemired and entangled with their 
conveniences and accommodations, in it. The true self- 
denying man is a pilgrim ; but the selfish man is an 
inhabitant of the world ; the one uses it, as men do 
ships, to transport themselves, or tackle in a journey, 
that is, to get home ; the other looks no farther, what- 
ever he prates, than to be fixed in fulness and ease 
here, and likes it so well, that if he could, he would 
not exchange. However, he will not trouble himself 
to think of the other world, till he is sure he must live 
no longer in this : but then, alas ! it will prove too 
late ; not to Abraham, but to Dives, he must go ; the 
story is as true as sad. 

Sect. 11. But on the other hand, it is not for 
nought that the disciples of Jesus deny themselves : 
and indeed, Christ himself had the eternal joy in his 
eye : for the joy that was set before him, says the 
author to the Hebrews, he endured the cross ; that is, 
he denied himself, and bore the reproaches and death 
of the wicked: and despised the shame, to wit, the 
dishonour and derision of the world. It made him 



42 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

not afraid nor shrink, he contemned it : and is set 
down on the right hand of the throne of God.^ And 
to their encouragement, and great consolation, when 
Peter asked him, what they should have that had for- 
saken all to follow him ? he answered them, "Yerily 
I say unto you, that ye which have followed me in 
the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on 
the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve 
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel,"^ that 
were then in apostacy from the life and power of god- 
liness. This was the lot of his disciples ; the more 
immediate companions of his tribulations, and first 
messengers of his kingdom. But the next that fol- 
lows is to all : " And every one that hath forsaken 
houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, 
or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, 
shall receive an hundred fold, and shall inherit ever- 
lasting life." It was this recompense of reward, this 
eternal crown of righteousness, that in every age has 
raised, in the souls of the just, an holy neglect, yea, 
contempt of the world. To this is owing, the con- 
stancy of the martyrs, as to their blood the triumph 
of the truth. 

Sect. 12. Nor is this a new doctrine ; it is as old 
as Abraham.^ In several most remarkable instances, 
his life was made up of self-denial. First, in quitting 
his own land, where we may well suppose him settled 
in the midst of plenty, at least sufficiency : and why ? 
Because God called him. Indeed this should be 
reason enough ; but such is the world's degeneracy, 
that in fact it is not : and the same act, upon the 
same inducement, in any now, though praised in 

1 Heb. xii. 2. 2 Matt xix. 27, 28, 29. » Gen. xii. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 43 

Abraham, would be derided. So apt are people not 
to understand what they commend ; nay, to despise 
those actions, when they meet them in the people of 
their own times, which they pretend to admire in their 
ancestors. 

Sect. 13. But he obeyed : the consequence was, 
that God gave him a mighty land. This was the first 
reward of his obedience. The next was, a son in his 
old age ; and which greatened the blessing, after it 
had been in nature, past the time of his wife's bearing 
of children.^ Yet God called for his darling, their 
only child, the joy of their age, the son of a miracle, 
and he upon whom the fulfilling of the promise, made 
to Abraham did depend. Por this son, I say, God 
called : a mighty trial, that which, one would have 
thought, might very well have overturned his faith, and 
stumbled his integrity: at least have put him upon this 
dispute in himself: this command is unreasonable and 
cruel; it is the tempter's, it cannot be God's. For, is 
it to be thought that God gave me a son to make a sacri- 
fice of him? That the ^father should be butcher of his 
only child? Again, that he should require me to offer 
up the son of his own promise, by whom his covenant 
is to be performed? this is incredible. I say, thus 
Abraham might naturally enough have argued, to with- 
stand the voice of God, and indulge his great affec- 
tions to his beloved Isaac. But good old Abraham 
that knew the voice that had promised him a son, had 
not forgot to know it, when it required him back again :^ 
he disputes not, though it looked strange, and perhaps 
with some surprise and horror, as a man. He had 
learned to believe, that God that gave him a child by 

^ Gen. xviii. s (jen. xxi. 



44 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

a miracle, could work another to preserve or restore 
him. His affections could not balance his duty, much 
less overcome his faith ; for he received him in a way 
that would let him doubt of nothing that God had 
promised of him. 

To the voice of this Almightiness he bows, builds 
an altar, binds his only son upon it, kindles the fire, 
and stretches forth his hand to take the knife; but the 
angel stopped the stroke. " Hold, Abraham, thy in- 
tegrity is proved." What followed? A ram served, 
and Isaac was his again. This shows how little serves, 
where all is resigned, and how mean a sacrifice con- 
tents the Almighty, where the heart is approved. So 
that it is not the sacrifice that recommends the heart, 
but the heart that gives the sacrifice acceptance. 

God often touches our best comforts, and calls for 
that which we most love, and are least willing to part 
with. Not that he always takes it utterly away, but 
to prove the soul's integrity, to caution us from ex- 
cesses, and that we may remember God, the author of 
those blessings we possess, and live loose to them. I 
speak my experience; the way to keep our enjoyments, 
is to resign them, and though that be hard, it is sweet 
to see them returned, as Isaac was to his father Abra- 
ham, with more love and blessing than before. 
stupid world! worldly christians ! Not only strangers, 
but enemies to this excellent faith ! and whilst so, the 
reward of it you can never know. 

Sect. 14. But Job pressed hard upon Abraham ; 
his self-denial also was very signal. For when the 
messengers of his afilictions came thick upon him, one 
doleful story after another, till he was left as naked 
as when he was born ; the first thing he did, he fell 



' NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 45 

to the ground, and worshipped that power, and kissed 
that hand that stripped him ; so far from murmuring, 
that he concludes his losses of estate and children with 
these words: *'Naked I came out of my mother's womb, 
and naked shall I return: the Lord gave, and the Lord 
hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord."' 
the deep faith, patience and contentment of this 
excellent man : one would have thought, this repeated 
news of ruin had been enough to have overset his con- 
fidence in God: but it did not: that stayed him. But 
indeed he tells us why; his Redeemer lived: "I know 
(says he) that my Redeemer lives. "^ And it appeared 
tie did: for he had redeemed him from the world: his 
heart was not in his worldly comforts; his hope lived 
above the joys of time, and troubles of mortality, not 
tempted by the one nor shaken by the other; but 
firmly believed, "that when after his skin worms should 
have consumed his body, yet with his eyes he should 
see God." Thus was the heart of Job both submitted 
to, and comforted in, the will of God. 

Sect. 15. Moses is the next great example in 
sacred story for remarkable self-denial, before the 
times of Christ's appearance in the flesh. He had 
been saved, when an infant, by an extraordinary Pro- 
vidence, and it seems by what followed, for an extra- 
ordinary service: Pharaoh's daughter, whose compas- 
sion was the means of his preservation when the king 
decreed the slaughter of the Hebrew males, took him 
for her son, and gave him the education of her 
father's court.^ His own graceful pr.esence and ex- 
traordinary abilities, joined with her love to him and 
interest in her father to promote him, must have 

1 Job i. 21. 2 Job xix. 25, 26. => Exod. ii. 



46 - NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

rendered him, if not capable of succession, at least of 
being chief minister of affairs under that wealthy and 
powerful prince. For Egypt was then what Athens 
and Rome were after, the most famous for learning, 
arts, and glory. 

Sect. 16. But Moses, ordained for other work, and 
guided by a better star, an higher principle, no sooner 
came to years of discretion, than the impiety of Egypt 
and the oppressions of his brethren there, grew a bur- 
then too heavy for him to bear. And though so wise 
and good a man could not want those generous and 
grateful resentments that became the kindness of the 
king's daughter to him ; yet he had also " seen that 
God that was invisible,"^ and did not dare to live in 
the ease and plenty of Pharaoh's house, whilst his 
poor brethren were required " to make brick without 
straw. "^ 

Thus the fear of the Almighty taking deep hold of 
his heart, he nobly refused to be called the son of 
Pharaoh's daughter, and chose rather a life of afflic- 
tion with the most despised and oppressed Israelites, 
and to be the companion of their temptations and 
jeopardies, '' than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a 
season;" esteeming the reproaches of Christ, which 
he suffered for making that unworldly choice, greater 
riches than all the treasures of that kingdom. 

Sect. 17. Nor was he so foolish as they thought 
him ; he had reason on his side : for it is said, '' He 
had an eye to the recompense of reward;" he did but 
refuse a lesser benefit for a greater. In this his wis- 
dom transcended that of the Egyptians; for they made 
the present world their choice, as uncertain as the 

1 Hob. xi. 2-1, 21. =* Er.ocI. v. 7, 1&. 



47 

weather, and so lost that which has no end. Moses 
looked deeper and weighed the enjoyments of this life 
in the scales of eternity, and found they made no 
"vreight there. He governed himself, not by the im- 
mediate possession, but the nature and duration of the 
reward. His faith corrected his affections, and taught 
him to sacrifice the pleasure of self to the hope that 
lie had of a future more excellent recompense. 

Sect. 18. Isaiah was no inconsiderable instance of 
this blessed self-denial ; who of a courtier became a 
prophet, and left the worldly interests of the one for 
the faith, patience, and sufferings of the other. For 
his choice did not only lose him the favour of men ; 
but their wickedness, enraged at his integrity to God, 
in his fervent and bold reproofs of them, made a mar- 
tyr of him in the end. For they barbarously sawed 
him asunder in the reign of king Manasses.^ Thus 
died that excellent man, and commonly called the 
Evangelical prophet. 

Sect. 19. I shall add, of many, one example more, 
and that is from the fidelity of Daniel ; an holy and 
wise young man, that when his external advantages 
came in competition with his duty to Almighty God, 
he relinquished them all : and instead of being solici- 
tous how to secure himself, as one minding nothing 
less, he was, with utmost hazard of himself, most 
careful how to preserve the honour of God, by his 
fidelity to his will. And though at the first it exposed 
him to ruin, yet, as an instance of great encourage- 
ment to all, that like him will choose to keep a good 
conscience in an evil time, at last it advanced him 
greatly in the world ; and the God of Daniel was made 

^ Dorotheus in liis lives of the prophets. 



48 

famous and terrible through his perseverance, even in 
the ejes of heathen kings. 

Sect. 20. What shall I say of all the rest, who, 
counting nothing dear that they might do the will of 
God, abandoned their worldly comforts, and exposed 
their ease and safety, as often as the heavenly vision 
called them, to the wrath and malice of degenerate 
princes, and an apostate church ?^ More especially 
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Micah, that after they had 
denied themselves in obedience to the divine voice, 
sealed up their testimony with their blood. 

Thus was self-denial the practice and glory of the 
ancients, that were predecessors to the coming of 
Christ in the flesh ; and shall we hope to go to heaven 
without it now, when our Saviour himself is become 
the most excellent example of it ? And that not as 
some would fain have it, viz, '' for us, that we need 
not," but for us, that we might deny ourselves, and 
so be the true followers of his blessed example.^ 

Sect. 21. Whoever therefore thou art, that wouldest 
do the will of God, but faintest in thy desires from 
the opposition of worldly considerations ; remember I 
tell thee, in the name of Christ, that he that prefers 
father or mother, sister or brother, wife or child, house 
or land, reputation, honour, office, liberty or life, be- 
fore the testimony of the light of Jesus in his own 
conscience, shall be rejected of him, in the solemn 
and general inquest upon the world, when all shall be 
judged, and receive according to the deeds done, not 
the profession made, in this life. It was the doctrine 
of Jesus, " that if thy right hand oifend thee, thou 
must cut it off; and if thy right eye offend thee, thou 

1 Dorotheus in Lis lives of the prophets. ^ 2 1 p^t. ii. 20, 21, 22. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 49 

must pluck it out:"* that is, if the most dear, the most 
useful and tender comforts thou enjoyest, stand in thy 
soul's way, and interrupt thy obedience to the voice 
of God, and thy conformity to his holy will revealed 
in thy sou], thou art engaged under the penalty of 
damnation to part with them. 

Sect. 22. The way of God is a way of faith ; as 
dark to sense, as mortal to self. It is the children of 
obedience, who count with holy Paul, all things dross 
and dung, that they may win Christ, and know and 
walk in this narrow way. Speculation will not do, 
nor can refined notions enter; " the obedient only eat 
the good of this land:" "They that do his will,"^ says 
the blessed Jesus, "shall know of my doctrine;"' them 
he will instruct. There is no room for instruction, 
where lawful self is lord and not servant. For self 
cannot receive it : that which should, is oppressed by 
self; fearful, and dares not. what will my father 
or mother say? How will my husband use me? Or, 
finally, what will the magistrate do with me ? For 
though I have a most powerful persuasion, and clear 
conA-iction upon my soul, of this or that thing, yet con- 
sidering how unmodish it is, what enemies it has, and 
how strange and singular I shall seem to them, I hope 
God will pity my weakness ; if I sinlc, I am but flesh- 
and blood ; it may be hereafter he may better enable 
me ; and there is time enough. Thus selfish, fearful 
man. 

But deliberating is ever worst; for the soul loses in 
parley: the manifestation brings power with it. Never 
did God convince people, but upon submission, he 
empowered them. lie requires nothing without ability 

r Matt. V. 29, 30. 2 isa. i. 19. John vii. 17. 

4 



50 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

to perform it : that were mocking not saving of men. 
It is enough for thee to do thy duty, that God shews 
thee thy duty ; provided thou closest with that light 
and spirit, by which he gives thee that knowledge. 
They that want power, are such as do not receive 
Christ in his convictions upon the soul ; and such will 
always want it : but such as do, they receive power, 
like those of old, to become the children of God, 
through the pure obedience of faith. 

Sect. 23. Wherefore, let me beseech you, by the 
love and mercy of God, by the life and death of 
Christ, by the power of his spirit, and the hope of im- 
mortality, that you whose hearts are established in 
your temporal comforts, and so lovers of self more 
than of these heavenly things, would " let the time 
past suffice:" that you would not think it enough to 
be clear of such impieties, as too many are found in, 
whilst your inordinate love of lawful things has defiled 
your enjoyment of them, and drawn your hearts from 
the fear, love, obedience and self-denial of a true dis- 
ciple of Jesus. Tack about then, and hearken to the 
still voice in thy conscience ; it tells thee thy sins, and 
of misery in them. It gives a lively discovery of the 
very vanity of the world, and opens to thy soul some 
prospect of eternity, and the comforts of the just that 
are at rest. If thou adherest to this, it will divorce 
thee from sin and self: thou wilt soon find, that the 
power of its charms exceed that of the wealth, honour 
and beauty of the world, and finally will give thee that 
tranquillity, which the storms of time can never ship- 
wreck nor disorder. Here all thine enjoyments are 
blest ; though small, yet great by that presence that 
is within them. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 51 

Even in this world the righteous have the better of 
it, for thej use the world without rebuke, because they 
do not abuse it. They see and bless the hand that 
feeds and clothes, and preserves them. And as by 
beholding him in all his gifts, they do not adore them, 
bat him ; so the sweetness of his blessings that gives 
them, is an advantage such have upon those that see 
him not. Besides, in their increase they are not lifted 
up, nor in their adversities are they cast down : and 
why ? Because they are moderated in the one, and 
comforted in the other, by his divine presence. 

In short, heaven is the throne, and the earth but 
the footstool, of that man that hath self under foot. 
And those that know that station will not easily be 
moved ; such learn to number their days, that they 
may not be surprised with their dissolution ; and to 
"redeem their time, because their days are evil;"i 
remembering that they are but stewards, and must 
deliver up their accounts to an impartial judge. 
Therefore, not to self, but to him they live, and in 
him die, and are blessed with them that die in the 
Lord. And thus I conclude my discourse of the right 
use of lawful self. ♦ 

* Eph. V. 15, 16. 



52 



CHAPTER y. 

Sect. 1. Of unlawful self, it is twofold, 1st. In relio-ion. 2(1. In mo- 
rality. 2. Of those that are most formal, superstitious and pompous 
in worship. 3. God's rebuke of carnal apprehensions. 4. Christ drew 
off his disciples from the Jewish exterior worship, and instituted a 
more spiritual one. 6. Stephen is plain and full in this matter. 6. Paul 
refers the temple of God twice to man. 7. Of the cross of these worldly 
•worshippers. 8. Flesh and blood make their cross, therefore cannot 
be crucified by it. 9. They are yokes without restraint. 10. Of the 
gaudiness of their cross, and their respect to it. 11. A recluse life no 
true gospel abnegation. 12. A comparison between Christ's self-denial 
and theirs : bis leads to purity in the world, theirs to voluntary im- 
prisonment, that they might not be tempted of the world. The mischief 
"which that example, followed, would do to the world. It destroys use- 
ful society, honest labour. A lazy life the usual refuge of idleness, 
poA'erty, and guilty age. 13. Of Christ's cross in this case. The im- 
possibility that such an external application can remove an internal 
cause. 14. An exhortation to the men of this belief, not to deceive 
themselves. 

Sect. 1. I am novf come to unlawful self, wliich, 
more or less is the immediate concernment of much 
the greater part of mankind. This unlawful self is 
twofold. 1st, That which relates to religious worship: 
2dlj, That which concerns moral and civil conversa- 
tion in the world. And they are hoth of infinite con- 
sequence to be considered by us. In which I shall be 
as brief as I may, with ease to my conscience, and no 
injury to the matter. 

Sect. 2. That unlawful self in religion, that ought 
to be mortified by the cross of Christ, is man's inven- 
tion and performance of worship to Grod, as divine, 
which is not so either in its institution or performance. 
In this great error, those people have the van, of all, 
that attribute to themselves the name of Christians, 
that are most exterior, pompous, and superstitious in 
their worship ; for they do not only miss exceedingly, 
by a spiritual unpreparedness, in the way of their 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 53 

performing worship to God Almiglity, \vliO is an 
eternal spirit ; but the worship itself is composed of 
what is utterly inconsistent with the very form and 
practice of Christ's doctrine, and the apostolical ex- 
ample. For whereas that was plain and spiritual, 
this is gaudy and worldly : Christ's most inward and 
mental ; theirs most outward and corporeal ; that 
suited to the nature of God, who is a spirit; this 
accommodated to the most carnal part. So that in- 
stead of excluding flesh and blood, behold a worship 
calculated to gratify them : as if the business were not 
to present God with a worship to please him, but to 
make one to please themselves. A worship dressed 
with such stately buildings, and imagery, rich furni- 
ture and garments, rare voices and music, costly lamps, 
wax-candles and perfumes ; and all acted with that 
most pleasing variety to the external senses, that art 
can invent, or cost procure : as if the world were to 
turn Jew or Egyptian again : or that God was an old 
man, indeed, and Christ a little boy, to be treated 
with a kind of religious mask, for so they picture 
him in their temples ; and too many in their minds. 
And the truth is, such a worship may very well suit 
such an idea of God : for when men can think him 
such an one as themselves, it is not to be wondered, 
if they address to hifn, and entertain him in a way 
that would be most pleasing from others to them- 
selves. 

Sect. 3. But what said the Almighty to such a 
sensual people of old, much upon the like occasion ? 
" Thou thoughtest I was such an one as thyself, but I 
will reprove thee, and set thy sins in order before 
thee. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I 



54 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. But 
to him that ordereth his conversation aright, will I 
shew the salvation of God."^ This is the worship 
acceptable to him, '' To do justice, love mercy, and 
walk humbly with God ;" for he that " searcheth the 
heart and tries the reins of man, and sets his sins 
In order before him, who is the God of the spirits of 
all flesh, "^ looks not to the external fabric, but inter- 
nal frame of the soul, and inclination of the heart, 
^or is it to be soberly thought, that he, who is 
^' clothed with divine honour and majesty, who covers 
himself with light, as with a garment, who stretches 
out the heavens like a curtain, who layeth the beams 
of his chambers in the deep, who maketh the clouds 
his chariots, and who walks upon the wings of the 
wind, who maketh his angels spirits, and his minis- 
ters a flaming fire, who laid the foundation of the 
earth that it should not be moved for ever," can be 
adequately worshipped by those human inventions, 
the refuge of an apostate people, from the primitive 
power of religion, and spirituality of christian wor- 
ship. 

Sect. 4. Christ drew off his disciples from the 
glory and worship of the outward temple, and instituted 
a more inward and spiritual worship, in which he in- 
structed his followers, " Ye shall neither in this moun- 
tain, nor yet at Jerusalem (says Christ to the Samari- 
tan woman) worship the Father. God is a spirit, 
and they that worship him, must worship him in spirit 
and in truth. "^ As if he had said: for the sake of 
the weakness of the people, God descended in old time, 
to limit himself to an outward time, place, temple and 

' Psal. 1. 21, 22, 23. ' Mic. vi. 8. » John iv. 21, 24- 



55 

service, in and by which he would be worshipped : but 
this was during men's ignorance of his omnipresence, 
and that they considered not what God is, nor where 
he is. But I am come to reveal him to as many as 
receive me. And I tell you that God is a spirit, and 
he will be worshipped in spirit and in truth. People 
must be acquainted with him as a spirit, consider him, 
and worship him as such. It is not that bodily wor- 
ship, nor these ceremonious services, in use among you 
now, that will serve, or give acceptance with this God 
that is a spirit : no, you must obey his spirit that 
strives with you, to gather you out of the evil of the 
world ; that by bowing to the instructions and com- 
mands of his spirit in your own souls, you may know 
what it is to worship him as a spirit; then you will under- 
stand, that it is not going to this mountain, nor Jeru- 
salem, but to do the will of God, to keep his command- 
ments ; and commune with thine own heart, and sin 
not, take up thy cross, meditate in his holy law, and 
follow the example of him whom the Father hath 
sent. 

Sect. 5. Wherefore Stephen, that bold and constant 
martyr of Jesus, thus told the Jews, when a prisoner 
at their bar for disputing about the end of their be- 
loved temple, and its services, but falsely accused of 
blasphemy, "Solomon (said Stephen) built God an 
house ; howbeit, God dwelleth not in temples made 
with hands; as saith the prophet,^ Heaven is my 
throne, and earth is my footstool ; what house will ye 
build me, saith the Lord ? Or what is the place of 
my rest? Hath not mine hands made all these things?"^ 
Behold a total overthrow to all worldly temples, and 

1 Acts vii. 47—51 . 2 isa. Ixvi. 1, 2. 



56 

their ceremonious appendences ! the martyr follows his 
blow upon those apostate Jews, who were of those 
times, the pompous, ceremonious, worldly worshippers: 
"Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, 
ye do always resist the Holy Ghost ; as did your 
fathers, so do ye." As if he had told them, no matter 
for your outward temple, rites, and shadowy services, 
your pretensions to succession in nature from Abra- 
ham, and by religion from Moses; you are resistors of 
the spirit, gainsay ers of its instructions: you will not 
bow to its counsel, nor are your hearts right towards 
God ; you are the successors of your father's iniquity; 
and though verbal admirers, yet none of the successors 
of the prophets in faith and life. 

But the prophet Isaiah carries it a little farther 
than is cited by Stephen. For after having declared 
what is not God's house, "the place where his honour 
dwells," immediately follow these words : " But to 
this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and of 
a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word."^ Be- 
hold, carnal and superstitious man, the true worship- 
per, and the place of God's rest! This is the house and 
temple of Him whom the heaven of heavens cannot 
contain ; an house self cannot build, nor the art nor 
power of man prepare or consecrate.- 

Sect. 6. Paul, that great apostle of the Gentiles, 
twice expressly refers the word temple to man : once 
in his first epistle to the church at Corinth ; " Know 
ye not (says he) that you are the temples of the Holy 
Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God?"^ &c. 
and not the building of man's hand and art. Again, 
he tells the same people, in his second epistle, " For 

1 Isa. Ixp. 2 1 Cor, vi. 19. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 57 

'ye are the temple of the living God, as God hath 
said ;"^ and then cites God's words by the prophet, 
*' I will dwell in them, and walk in them ; and I will 
be their God, and they shall be my people." This is 
the evangelical temple, the Christian church, whose 
ornaments are not the embroideries and furnitures of 
worldly art and wealth, but the graces of the spirit ; 
" meekness, love, faith, patience, self-denial, and 
charity." Here it is, that the eternal wisdom, that 
was with God from everlasting, before the hills were 
brought forth, or the mountains laid, chooses to dwell, 
'^ rejoicing, (says Wisdom) in the habitable part of the 
earth, and my delights were with the sons of men ;"^ 
not in the houses built of wood and stone. This 
living house is more glorious than Solomon's dead 
house ; and of which his was but a figure, as he, the 
builder, was of Christ, who ^' builds us up an holy 
temple to God."^ It was promised of old, that " the 
glory of the latter should transcend the glory of the 
former ;" which may be applied to this : not one out- 
ward temple or house to excel another in outward 
lustre ; for where is the benefit of that ? but the divine 
glory, the beauty of holiness in the gospel house or 
church, made up of renewed believers, should exceed 
the outward glory of Solomon's temple, which in com- 
parison of the latter days, was but flesh to spirit, 
fading resemblances to the eternal substance. 

But for all this. Christians have meeting-places, 
yet not in Jewish or Heathen state, but plain ; void 
of pomp and ceremony ; suiting the simplicity of their 
blessed Lord's life and doctrine. For God's presence 
is not with the house, but with them that are in it, 

' 2 Cor. vi. 16. ^ Prov. viii. 22, 23, 25, .31. = Hag. ii, 9. 



58 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

who are the gospel-churcli, and not the house. ! 
that such as call themselves Christians, knew but a 
real sanctity in themselves, by the washing of God's 
regenerating grace ; instead of that imaginary sanctity 
ascribed to places, they would then know what the 
church is, and where, in these evangelical days, is the 
place of God's appearance. This made the prophet 
David say, " The King's daughter i& all glorious 
within, her clothing is of wrought gold." What is the 
glory that is within the true church, and that gold 
that makes up that inward glory? Tell me, 
superstitious man! is it thy stately temples, altars, 
carpets, tables, tapestries ; thy vestments, organs, 
voices, candles, lamps, censers, plate and jewels, with 
the like furniture of thy worldly temples ? No such 
matter ; they bear no proportion with the divine adorn- 
ment of the King of heaven's daughter, the blessed 
and redeemed church of Christ. Miserable apostacy 
that it is ! and a wretched supplement in the loss and 
absence of the apostolic life, the spiritual glory of the 
primitive church. 

Sect. 7. But yet some of these admirers of external 
pomp and glory in worship, would be thought lovers 
of the Cross, and to that end have made to themselves 
many. But alas ! what hopes can there be of recon- 
ciling that to Christianity, that the nearer it comes to 
its resemblance, the farther off it is in reality ? For 
their very cross and self-denial, are most unlawful self: 
and whilst they fancy to worship God thereby, they 
most dangerously err from the true cross of Christ, 
and that holy abnegation that was of his blessed ap- 
pointment. It is true, they have got a cross, but it 
seems to be in the room of the true one ; and so man- 



59 

nerly, that it will do as they will have it that wear it ; 
for instead of mortifying their wills by it, they made 
it, and use it according to them : so that the cross is 
become their ensign that do nothing but what they 
list. Yet by that they would be thought his disciples, 
that never did his own will, but the will of his heav- 
enly Father. 

Seot. 8. This is such a cross as flesh and blood can 
carry, for flesh and blood invented it: therefore not 
the cross of Christ, that is to crucify flesh and blood. 
Thousands of them have no more virtue than a chip; 
poor empty shadows, not so much as images of the 
true one. Some carry them for charms about them, 
but never repel one evil with them. They sin with 
them upon their backs, and though they put them in 
their bosoms, their beloved lusts lie there too without 
the least disquiet. They are as dumb as Elijah's 
mock-gods; no life nor power in them:^ and how 
should they, whose matter is earthly, and whose figure 
and workmanship are but the invention and labour of 
worldly artists ? Is it possible that such crosses 
should mend their makers? Surely not. 

Sect. 9. These are yokes without restraint, and 
crosses that never contradict : a whole cart load of 
them would leave a man as unmortified as they find 
him. Men may sooner knock their brains out with 
them, than their sins: and that, I fear, too many of 
them know in their very consciences that use them, 
indeed adore them, and which can only happen to the 
false cross, are proud of them too, since the true one 
leaves no pride where it is truly borne. 

Sect. 10. For as their religion, so their cross is 

^ 1 Kings xviii. 27. 



60 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

very gaudy and triumphant: but in what? In precious 
metals and gems, the spoil of superstition upon the 
people's pockets. These crosses are made of earthly 
treasure, instead of learning their hearts that wear 
them to deny it ; and like men they are respected by 
their finery. A rich cross shall have many gazers and 
admirers ; the mean, in this, as other things, are more 
neglected. I could appeal to themselves of this great 
vanity and superstition. ! how very short is this of 
the blessed cross of Jesus, that takes away the sins 
of the world ! 

Sect. 11. Nor is a recluse life, the boasted right- 
eousness of some, nyich more commendable, or one 
whit nearer to the nature of the true cross : for if it 
be not unlawful as other things are, it is unnatural, 
which true religion teaches not. The christian con- 
vent and monastery are within, where the soul is en- 
cloistered from sin. And this religious house the true 
followers of Christ carry about with them, who exempt 
not themselves from the conversation of the world, 
though they keep themselves from the evil of the world 
in their conversation. That is a lazy, rusty, unprofit- 
able self-denial, burdensome to others, to feed their 
idleness; religious bedlams, where people are kept up, 
lest they should do mischief abroad; patience per force; 
self-denial against their will, rather ignorant than 
virtuous; and out of the way of temptation than con- 
stant in it. No thanks if they commit not what they 
are not tempted to commit. What the eye views not, 
the heart craves not, as well as rues not. 

Sect. 12. The cross of Christ is of another nature ; 
it truly overcomes the world, and leads a life of purity 
in the face of its allurements: they that bear it, are not 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 61 

thus chained up, for fear they should bite : nor locked 
up lest they should be stolen away : no, they receive 
power from Christ their captain, to resist the evil, and 
do that which is good in the sight of God; to despise 
the world, and love its reproach above its praise : and 
not only not to offend others, but love those that offend 
them, though not for offending them. What a world 
should we have, if everybody, for fear of transgressing, 
should mew himself up within /our walls ! 'No such 
matter ; the perfection of Christian life extends to 
every honest labour or traffick used among men. This 
severity is not the effect of Christ's free spirit, but a 
voluntary, fleshly humility ; mere trammels of their 
own making and putting on, without prescription or 
reason. In all which, it is plain, they are their own 
law-givers, and set their own rule, mulct and ransom: 
a constrained harshness, out of joint to the rest of the 
creation ; for society is one great end of it, and not to 
be destroyed for fear of evil: but sin banished that 
spoils' it, by steady reproof, and a conspicuous ex- 
ample of tried virtue. True godliness does not turn 
men out of the world, but enables them to live better 
in it, and excites their endeavours to mend it: "not 
hide their candle under a bushel, but set it upon a 
table, in a candlestick." Besides, it is a selfish inven- 
tion: and that can never be the way of taking up the 
cross, which the true cross is therefore taken up to 
subject. But again, this humour runs away by itself, 
and leaves the world behind to be lost ; Christians 
should keep the helm, and guide the vessel to its port ; 
not meanly steal out at the stern of the world, and 
leave those that are in it, without a pilot, to be driven 
by the fury of evil times, upon the rock or sand of 



62 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

ruin. In fine, this sort of life, if taken up by young 
people, is commonly to cover idleness, or to pay por- 
tions ; to save the lazy from the pain of punishment, or 
quality from the disgrace of poverty: one will not 
work, and the other scorns it. If aged, a long life of 
guilt sometimes flies to superstition for refuge; and 
after having had its own will in other things, would 
finish it in a wilful religion to make God amends. 

Sect. 13. But taking up the cross of Jesus is a 
more interior exercise : it is the circumspection and 
discipline of the soul, in conformity to the divine mind 
therein revealed. Does not the body follow the soul, 
and not the soul the body ? Do not such consider, 
that no outward cell can shut up the soul from lust, 
the mind from an infinity of unrighteous imaginations ? 
The thoughts of man's heart are evil, and that con- 
tinually. Evil comes from within, and not from with- 
out: how then can an external application remove an 
internal cause ; or a restraint upon the body, work a 
confinement of the mind ? Less much than without 
doors : for where there is least of action, there is most 
time to think ; and if those thoughts are not guided by 
an higher principle, convents are more mischievous to 
the world than exchanges. And yet a retirement is 
both an excellent and needful thing : crowds and 
throngs were not much frequented by the ancient holy 
pilgrims. 

Sect. 14. But then examine, man, thy bottom, 
what it is, and who placed thee there ; lest in the end 
it should appear, thou hast put an eternalcheat upon 
thy own soul. I must confess I am jealous of the 
salvation of my own kind, having found mercy with 
my heavenly Father : I would have none deceive them- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 63 

selves to perdition, especially about religion, where 
people are most apt to take all for granted, and lose 
infinitely by their own -flatteries and neglect. The 
inward steady righteousness of Jesus is another thing, 
than all the contrived devotion of poor superstitious 
man : and to stand approved in the eye of God, excels 
that bodily exercise in religion, resulting from the in- 
vention of men. And the soul that is awakened and 
preserved by his holy power and spirit, lives to him 
in the way of his own institution, and worships him in 
his own spirit, that is, in the holy sense, life, and lead- 
ings of it; which indeed is the ca- angelical worship. 
Not that I would be thought to slight a true retire- 
ment : for I do not only acknowledge, but admire soli- 
tude. Christ himself was an example of it : he loved and 
chose to frequent mountains, gardens, sea-sides. They 

^ are requisite to the growth of piety ; and I reverence 
the virtue that seeks and uses it : wishing there were 
more of it in the world : but then it should be free, 
not constrained. What benefit to the mind, to have 
it for a punishment, and not a pleasure? Nay, I have 
long thought it an error among all sorts, that use not 
monastic lives, that they have no retreats for the af- 
flicted, the tempted, the solitary, and the devout ; 
where they might undisturbedly wait upon God, pass 

■ through their religious exercises ; and being thereby 
strengthened, may, with more power over their own 
spirits enter into the business of the world again ; 
though the less the better to be sure. For divine 
pleasures are found in a free solitude. 



64 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Sect. 1. But men of more refined belief and practice are yet concerned 
in this unlawful self about religion. 2. It is the rise of the perform- 
ance of worship God regards. 3. True worship is only from an heart 
prepared by God's spirit. 4. The soul of man dead, without the divine 
breath of life, and so not capable of worshipping the living God. 5. 
We are not to study what to pray for. How christians should pray. 
The aid they have from God. 6. The way of obtaining this prepara- 
tion : it is by waiting, as David and others did of old, in holy silence, 
that their wants and supplies are best seen. 7. The whole and the full 
think they need not this waiting, and so use it not : but the poor in 
spirit are of another mind ; wherefore the Lord hears and fills them 
with his good things. 8. If there were not this preparation, the Jew- 
ish times would have been more holy and spiritual than the gospel ; 
for even then it was required, and much more now. 9. As sin, so for- 
mality cannot worship God; thus David, Isaiah, <&c. 10. God's own 
forms and institutions hateful to him, unless his own spirit use them ; 
much more those of man's contriving, 11. God's children ever met 
God in his way, not their own ; and in his way they always found help 
and comfort. In Jeremiah's time it was the same ; his goodness was 
manifest to his children that waited truly upon him : it was an inward 
sense and enjoyment of him they thirsted after. Christ charged his 
disciples also to wait for the spirit. 12. This doctrine of waiting 
farther opened, and ended with an allusion to the pool of Bethesda ; . 
a lively figure of inward waiting, and its blessed eflects. 13. Four 
things necessary to worship ; the sanctification of the worshipper, and 
the consecration of the offering, and the thing to be prayed for : and 
lastly, faith to pra}' in : and all must be right, that is, of God's giving, 

14. The great power of faith in prayer; witness the importunate- 
widow. The wicked and formal ask, and receive not ; the reason why. 
But Jacob and his true offspring, the followers of his faith, prevail, 

15, This shews why Christ upbraided his disciples with their little 
faith. The necessity of faith, Christ works no good on men without 
it. 16. This faith is not only possible now, but necessary, 17. What 
it is, farther unfolded. 18. Who the heirs of this faith are ; and what 
were the noble works of it in the former ages of the just. 

Sect. 1. But there be others of a more refined 
speculation, and reformed practice, who dare not use, 
and less adore, a piece of wood or stone, an image of 
silver or gold ; nor yet allow of that Jewish, or rather 
Paga^n pomp in worship, practised by others, as if 
Christ's worship were of this world, though his king- 
dom be of the other ; but are doctrinely averse to 
such superstition, and yet refrain not to bow to their 



NO CROSS, NO CEOWN. 65 

own religious duties, and esteem their formal perform- 
ance of several parts of worship, that go against the 
grain of their fleshly ease, and a preciseness therein, 
no small cross unto them ; and that if they abstain 
from gross and scandalous sins, or if the act be not 
committed, though the thoughts of it are embraced, 
and that it has a full career in the mind, they hold 
themselves safe enough, within the pale of disciple- 
ship and wall of Christianity. But this also is too 
mean a character of the discipline of Christ's cross : 
and those that flatter themselves with such a sort of 
taking it up, will in the end be deceived with a sandy 
foundation, and a midnight cry. For said Christ, 
^' But I say unto you, that every idle word that men 
shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the 
day of judgment."^ 

Sect. 2. For flrst, it is not performing duties of 
religion but the rise of the performance, that God 
looks at. Men may, and some do, cross their own wills, 
in their own v\^ills ; voluntary omission or commission : 
" who has required this at your hands ?"^ said the 
Lord of old to the Jews, when they seemed indus- 
trious to have served him ; but it was in a way of their 
own contriving, or inventing, and in their own time 
and will ; not with the soul truly touched and prepared 
by the divine power of God ; but bodily worship only, 
that the apostle tells us, profiteth little. Not keep- 
ing to the manner of taking up the cross in worship, 
as well as other things, has been a great cause of the 
troublesome superstition that is yet in the world. For 
men have no more brought their worship to the test, 
than their sins : nay less ; for they have ignorantly 

1 M;itt. xii, 36. - Isa. i. 12. 



66 

thought the one a sort of excuse for the other ; and 
not that their religious performances should need a 
cross, or an apology. 

Sect. 3. But true worship can only come from an 
heart prepared by the Lord.^ This preparation is by 
the sanctification of the Spirit ; by which, if God's 
children are led in the general course of their lives, 
as Paul teaches, much more in their worship to their 
Creator and Redeemer.^ And whatever prayer be 
made, or doctrine be uttered, and not from the prepa- 
ration of the Holy Spirit, it is not acceptable with 
God : nor can it be the true evangelical worship, 
which is in spirit and truth ; that is, by the prepara- 
tion and aid of the Spirit. For what is an heap of 
the most pathetical words to God Almighty ; or the 
dedication of any place or time to him ? He is a 
spirit, to whom words, places and times, strictly con- 
sidered, are improper or inadequate. And though 
they be the instruments of public worship, they are 
but bodily and visible, and cannot carry our requests 
any farther, much less recommend them to the invisi- 
ble God ; by no means : they are for the sake of the 
congregation : it is the language of the soul God 
hears; nor can that speak, but by the Spirit; or 
groan aright to Almighty God, without the assistance 
of it. 

Sect. 4. The soul of man, however lively in other 
things, is dead to God, till he breathe the spirit of 
life into it : it cannot live to him, much less wor- 
ship him without it. Thus God by Ezekiel tells us, 
when in a vision of the restoration of mankind, in the 
person of Israel, an usual way of speaking among the 

^ Prov. xvi. 1, ' Rom. viii. 14. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 67 

prophets, and as often mistaken ; '^ I will open your 
graves (saith the Lord) and put mj spirit in you, and 
ye shall live."^ So, though Christ taught his disciples 
to pray, they were, in some sort, disciples before he 
taught them ; not worldly men, whose prayers are an 
abomination to God. And his teaching them is not 
an argument that every one must say that prayer, 
whether he can say it with the same heart, and under 
the same qualifications, as his poor disciples and fol- 
lowers did or not, as is now too superstitiously and 
presumptuously practised. But rather, that as they 
then, so we now, are not to pray our own prayers, 
but his ; that is, such as he enables us to make, as he 
enabled them then. 

Sect. 5. For if we are not to take thought what we 
shall say when we come before worldly princes, be- 
cause it^ shall then be given us ; and that it is not we 
that speak, but the spirit of our heavenly Father that 
speaketh in us f much less can our ability be needed, 
or ought we to study to ourselves forms of speech in 
our approaches to the great Prince of princes, King 
of kings, and Lord of lords.^ For be it his greatness, 
we ought not by Christ's command : be it our relation 
to him, as children, we need not : he will help us, he 
is our father ; that is, if he be so indeed. Thus not 
only the mouth of the body, but of the soul is shut, 
till God opens it ; and then he loves to hear the lan- 
guage of it. In w^hich the body ought never to go 
before the soul ; his ear is open to such requests, and 
his spirit strongly intercedes for those that offer them. 

Sect. 6. But it may be asked, how shall this pre- 
paration be obtained? 

' E^ek. xxxvii. 12, 13, 14. ^ Matt. x. 19, 20. » Matt. vi. 



68 

I answer: bj waiting patiently, jet watchfully and 
intently upon God: "Lord (says the Psalmist) thou 
hast heard the desire of the humble; thou wilt pre- 
pare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear :"^ 
and, says Wisdom, "the preparation of the heart inman 
is from the Lord."^ Here it is thou must not think 
thy own thoughts, nor speak thy own words, which 
indeed is the silence of the holy cross, but be seques- 
tered from all the confused imaginations, that are apt 
to throng and press upon the mind, in those holy re- 
tirements. It is not for thee to think to overcome the 
Almighty by the most composed matter, cast into the 
aptest phrase: no, no; one groan, one sigh, from a 
wounded soul, an heart touched with true remorse, a 
sincere and godly sorrow, which is the work of God's 
spirit, excels and prevails with God. Wherefore stand 
still in thy mind, wait to feel something "that is divine, 
to prepare and dispose thee to worship God truly and 
acceptably. And thus taking up the cross, and shut- 
ting the doors and windows of the soul against every- 
thing that would interrupt this attendance upon God, 
how pleasant soever the object be in itself, how lawful or 
needful at another season, the power of the Almighty 
will break in, his spirit will work and prepare the 
heart, that it may offer up an acceptable sacrifice. It 
is he that discovers and presses wants upon the soul ; 
and when it cries, it is he alone that supplies them. 
Petitions, not springing from such a sense and pre- 
paration, are formal and fictitious; they are not true ; 
for men pray in their own blind desires, and not in the 
will of God; and his ear is stopped to them: but for 
the very sighing of the poor, and crying of the needy, 

1 Psal. X. ir. 2 Prov. xvi. 1. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 69 

God hath said, he will arise ; that is, the poor in spirit, 
the needy soul, those that -want his assistance, who are 
ready to be overwhelmed, that feel a need, and cry 
aloud for a deliverer, and that have none on earth to 
help,^ ''none in heaven but him, nor in earth in com- 
parison of him : he will deliver (said David) the needy, 
when he cries, and the poor, and him that has no 
helper. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and 
violence, and precious shall their blood be in his sight. 
This poor man (says he) cried, and the Lord heard 
him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel 
of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear 
him, and delivers them ;"^ and then invites all to come 
and taste how good the Lord is. Yea, "he will bless 
them that fear the Lord, both small and great. "^ 

Sect. 7. But what is that to them that are not hun- 
gry? The whole need not the physician:^ the full 
have no need to sigh, nor the rich to cry for help. 
Those that are not sensible of their inward wants, that 
have not fears and terrors upon them, who feel no 
need, of God's power to help them, nor of the light of 
his countenance to comfort them; what ^have such to 
do with prayer? Their devotion is but, at best, a 
serious mockery of the Almighty. They know not, 
they want not, they desire not what they pray for. 
They pray the will of God may be done, and do con- 
stantly their own: for though it be soon said, it is a 
most terrible thing to them. They ask for grace, and 
abuse that they have: they pray for the spirit, but resist 
it in themselves, and scorn at it in others: they request 
the mercies and goodness of God, and feel no real want 

1 Psal. xii. 5. 2 pgai, ixxii. 12, 14. Psal. xxxiv. 6, 1, 8. 

3 Psal. cxv. 13. * Matt. ix. 12. 



70 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

of them. And in tins inward insensibility, they are 
as unable to praise God for what they have, as to pray 
for what they have not. " They shall praise the Lord 
(says David) that seek him: for he satisfieth the long- 
ing soul, and filleth the hungry with good things."^ 
This also he reserves for the poor and needy, and those 
that fear God. ^' Let the (spiritually) poor and the 
needy praise thy name: ye that fear the Lord, praise 
him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him."^ Jacob 
was a plain man, of an upright heart ; and they that 
are so are his seed. And though, with him, they may 
be as poor as worms in their own eyes, yet they receive 
power to wrestle with God, and prevail as he did. 

Sect. 8. But without the preparation and consecra- 
tion of this power, no man is fit to come before God ; 
else it were matter of less holiness and reverence to 
worship God under the gospel, than it was in the times 
of the law, when all sacrifices were sprinkled before 
offered ; the people consecrated that offered them, be- 
fore they presented themselves before the Lord.^ If 
the touching of a dead or unclean beast then made 
people unfit for temple or sacrifice, yea, society Tvith 
the clean, till first sprinkled and sanctified, how can 
we think so meanly of the worship that is instituted 
by Christ in gospel-times, as that it shall admit of un- 
prepared and unsanctified offerings ? or, allow that 
those who either in thoughts, words, or deeds, do daily 
touch that which is morally unclean, can, without 
coming to the blood of Jesus, that sprinkles the con- 
science from dead works, acceptably worship the pure 
God; it is a downright contradiction to good sense: 

1 Psal. xxii. 26. Psal. cvii. 9. ^ Psal. Ixxiv. 21. Psal. xxii. 23. 
^ Numb. viii. and chap. xix. 2 Chron. xxix. 36, and chap. xxx. 16, 17. 



71 

the unclean cannot acceptably worship that which is 
holy ; the impure that which is perfect. There is an 
holy intercourse and communion betwixt Christ and 
his followers ; but none at all betwixt Christ and 
Belial ; between him and those that disobey his com- 
mandments, and live not the life of his blessed cross 
and self-denial.* 

Sect. 9. But as sin, so formality cannot worship 
God ; no, though the manner were of his own ordina- 
tion. Which made the prophet, personating one in 
a great strait, cry out, " Wherewith shall I come be- 
fore the Lord, and bow myself before the high God ? 
Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings ? With 
calves of a year old ? Will the Lord be pleased with 
thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of 
oil ? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, 
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ? He 
hath shewed thee, man, what is good. And what 
doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to 
love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God ?"^ 
The royal prophet, sensible of this, calls thus also 
upon God ; " Lord, open thou my lips, and my 
mouth shall shew forth thy praise."^ He did not 
dare open his own lips, he knew that he could not 
praise God : and why ? " For thou desirest not sa- 
crifice, else would I give it:" (if my formal offerings 
would serve, thou shouldst not want them) '' thou de- 
lightest not in burnt-offerings. The sacrifices of God, 
are a broken spirit ; a broken and a contrite heart, 
God, thou wilt not despise :" and why ? Because this 
is God's work, the effect of his power ; and his own 
works praise him. To the same purpose doth God 

' 2 Cor. vi. 15, 16. ' Mlc. vi. 6, 7, 8. = Psal. li. 15, 16, 17. 



72 

himself speak, bj the mouth of Isaiah, in opposition to 
the formalities and lip-worship of the degenerate 
Jews : " Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, 
and the earth is my foot-stool, where is the house that 
ye build to me ? And where is the place of my rest ? 
For all these things hath my hand made. But to 
this man will I look, even him that is poor, and of a 
contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word."^ be- 
hold the true worshipper ! one of God's preparing, 
circumcised in heart and ear, that resists not the Holy 
Spirit, as those lofty professing Jews did. Was this 
so then, even in the time of the law, which was the 
dispensation of external and shadowy performances, 
and can we now expect acceptance without the prepa- 
ration of the Spirit of the Lord in these gospel-times, 
which are the proper times for the eifusion of the 
Spirit ? By no means : God is what he was ; and 
none else are his true worshippers, but such as wor- 
ship him in his own spirit ; these he tenders as the 
apple of his eye : the rest do but mock him, and he 
despises them. Hear what follows to that people, for 
it is the state and portion of Christendom at this day : 
" He that killeth an ox, is as if he slew a man : he 
that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck ; 
he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's 
blood ; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an 
idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and 
their soul delighteth in their abominations." Let 
none say we offer not these kinds of oblations, for 
that is not the matter ; God was not offended with the 
offerings, but offerers. These were the legal forms of 
sacrifice by God appointed; but they not presenting 

1 Isa. Ixvi. 1, 2. 



NO CROWN. 73 

them in that frame of spirit, and under that right dis- 
position of soul that was required, God declares his 
abhorrence, and that with great aggravation; and 
elsewhere, by the same prophet, forbids them to 
" bring any more vain oblations before him : incense 
(says God) is an abomination to me : your sabbaths 
and calling of assemblies I cannot away with ; it is 
iniquity, even the solemn meeting. And when ye 
spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from 
you ; when you make many prayers, I will not hear 
you."' A most terrible renunciation of their worship; 
and why ? Because their hearts were polluted ; they 
loved not the Lord with their whole hearts, but broke 
his law, and rebelled against his spirit, and did not 
that which was right in his sight. The cause is plain, 
by the amendments he requires : " Wash you (says 
the Lord) make you clean, put away the evil of your 
doings from before mine eyes : cease to do evil, learn 
to do well ; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, 
judge the fatherless, plead for the widow." Upon 
these terms, and nothing short, he bids them come to 
him, and tells them, that though their " sins be as 
scarlet, they shall be white as snow ; and though they 
be as crimson, they shall be white as wool." 

So true is that notable passage of the Psalmist: 
" Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will de- 
clare what he hath done for my soul: I cried to him 
with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. 
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not 
hear me. But verily God hath heard me, he hath 
attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God 
which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy 
from me."^ 

1 Isa. i. 13 to 18. ^ Psal. Ixvi. 16, 20. 



74 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

Sect. 10. Much of this kind might be cited, to shew 
the displeasure of God against even his own forms of 
worship, when performed without his own spirit, and 
that necessary preparation of the heart of man, that 
nothing else can work or give : which above all other 
penmen of sacred writ, is most frequently and empha- 
tically recommended to us by the example of the 
Psalmist, who ever and anon calling to mind his own 
great slips, and the cause of them, and the way by 
which he came to be accepted of God, and obtain 
strength and comfort from him, reminds himself to 
wait upon God. " Lead me in thy truth, and teach 
me, for thou art the God of my salvation, on thee do 
I wait all the day long."^ His soul looked to God for 
salvation, to be delivered from the snares and evils of 
the world. This shews an inward exercise, a spiritual 
attendance, that stood not in external forms but an 
inward divine aid. 

And truly, David had great encouragement so to do, 
the goodness of God invited him to it, and strengthened 
him in it. " For (says he) I waited patiently upon 
the Lord, and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 
He brought me out of the miry clay, and set my feet 
upon a rock." That is, the Lord appeared inwardly 
to consolate David's soul, that waited for his help, and 
to deliver it from the temptations and afflictions that 
were ready to overwhelm it, and gave him security 
and peace. Therefore he says, "The Lord hath es- 
tablished my going;" that is, fixed his mind in right- 
eousness. Before, every step he took bemired him, 
and he was scarce able to go without falling : tempta- 
tions on all hands; but he waited patiently upon God ; 

1 Psal. XXV. 5. Psal. xl. 1, 2, 3. 



NO CK0S3, NO CROWN. 75 

his mind retired watchful and intent to his law and 
spirit ; and he felt the Lord to incline to him. His 
needy and sensible cry entered heaven, and prevailed; 
then came rescue and deliverance to David, in God's 
time, not David's, strength to go through his exercises, 
and surmount all his troubles. For which he tells us, 
" a new song was put into his mouth even praise," 
says he, "to our God." But it was of God's making 
and putting, and not his own. 

Another time, we have him crying thus: "As the 
hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my 
soul after thee, God. My soul thirsteth for God, 
for the living God: when shall I come and appear 
before him?" This goes beyond formality, and can 
be tied to no lesson. But we may by this see, that 
true worship is an inward -^j^ork ; that the soul must be 
touched and raised in its heavenly desires, by the 
heavenly spirit, and that the true worship is in God's 
presence. "When shall I come and appear?" Not 
in the temple, nor with outward sacrifices, but before 
God, in his presence. So that the souls of true 
worshippers see God, make their appearance before 
him ; and this they wait, they pant, they thirst for. 
how is the better part of Christendom degenerated 
from David's example! No wonder, therefore, that 
this good man tells us, " truly my soul waiteth upon 
God ;" and that he gives it in charge to his soul so to 
do ; "0 my soul, wait thou upon God ; for my expec- 
tation is from him." As if he said. None else can pre- 
pare my heart, or supply my wants ; so that my ex- 
pectation is not from my own voluntary performances, 
or the bodily worship I can give him; they are of no 
value ; they can neither help me nor please him. But 



76 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

I wait upon him for strength and power to present 
myself so before him as maj be most pleasing to him, 
for he that prepares the sacrifice, will certainly accept 
it. "Wherefore in two verses he repeats it thrice, *'I 
wait for the Lord — My S'onl doth wait — My soul 
waiteth for the Lord, more than they that watch for 
the morning."^ Yea, so intensely, and with that un- 
weariedness of soul, that he says in one place, "Mine 
eyes fail, while I wait for my God."^ He was not 
contented with so many prayers, such a set of worship, 
or limited repetition ; no : he leaves not till he finds 
the Lord, that is, the comforts of his presence; which 
bring the answer of love and peace to his soul. Nor 
was this his practice only, as a man more than ordina- 
rily inspired; for he speaks of it as the way of worship 
then amongst the true people of God, the spiritual 
Israel, and circumcision in heart, of that day. "Be- 
hold (says he) as the eyes of servants look to the hand 
of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the 
hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the Lord 
our God, until he have mercy upon us."^ Li another 
place, " Our soul waiteth for the Lord, he is our help 
and our shield. I will wait upon thy name, for it is 
good before thy saints.""* It was in request with the 
truly godly of that day, and the way they came to 
enjoy God, and worship him acceptably. And from 
his own experience of the benefit of waiting upon God, 
and the saints' practice of those times, he recommends 
it to others: " Wait upon the Lord, be of good courage, 
and he shall strengthen thy heart: wait, I say, upon 
the Lord."^ That is, wait in faith and patience, and 

' Psal. cxxx. 5, 6. 2 Psal. Ixix. 3. => Psal. cxxiii. 2. 

* Psal. xxxiii. 20. Psal. lii. 9. ' Psal. xxvii. U. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 77 

he Urill come to save thee. Again, "Rest in the Lord, 
and wait patiently for him :"' that is, cast thyself upon 
him ; be contented, and -wait for him to help thee in 
thy "wants: thou canst not think how near he is to help 
those that wait upon him: tiy, and have faith! 
Yet again, he bids us, "wait upon the Lord, and keep 
his way."^ Behold the reason so few profit! they are 
out of his way, and such can never wait rightly upon 
him. Great reason had David for what he said, that 
had with so much comfort and advantage met the Lord 
in his blessed way. 

Sect. 11. The prophet Isaiah tells us, that though 
the chastisements of the Lord were sore upon the 
people for their backslidings,^ yet in the way of his 
judgments, in the way of his rebukes and displeasures 
they waited for him, and the desire of their soul, that 
is the great point, was to his name, and the remem- 
brance of him. They were contented to be chid and 
chastised, for they had sinned ; and the knowledge of 
him so, was very desirable to them. But what ! did 
he not come at last, and that in mercy too? Yes, he 
did, and they knew him when he came, a doctrine the 
brutish world knows not, " This is our God, we have 
waited for him, and he will save us."^ blessed 
enjoyment ! precious confidence. Here was a wait- 
ing in faith, which prevailed. All worship, not in 
faith, is fruitless to the worshipper, as well as dis- 
pleasing to God ; and this faith is the gift of God, 
and the nature of it is to purify the heart, and give 
such as truly believe "victory over the world." 
Well ! but they go on : "We have waited for him, we 

1 Psal. xxxvii, 7. "^ Psal. sxsvii. 31. 

3 I?a, xxvi. 8. * Isa. xxv. 9. 



78 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."^ The pro- 
phet adds, " Blessed are all they that wait upon God :"^ 
and why ? *' For they that wait upon the Lord, shall 
renew their strength ; they shall never faint ; never 
be weary :"^ The encouragement is great. hear 
him once more! ''For since the beginning of the 
world, men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, 
neither hath the eye seen, God ! besides thee, what 
he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him."'* 
Behold the inward life and joy of the righteous, the 
true worshippers ! those whose spirits bowed to the 
appearance of God's spirit in them, leaving and for- 
saking all it appeared against, and embracing what- 
ever it led them to. In Jeremiah's time, the true 
worshippers also waited upon God ; and he assures 
us, "That the Lord is good to them that wait for him, 
to the soul that seeketh him." Herice it is that the 
prophet Hosea exhorts the church then, to turn and 
wait upon God: "Therefore turn thou to thy God; 
keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God con- 
tinually."^ 

And Micah is very zealous and resolute in this 
good exercise : " I will look unto the Lord, I will wait 
for the God of my salvation : my God will hear me."* 
Thus did the children of the spirit that thirsted after 
an inward sense of him. The wicked cannot say so : 
nor they that pray, unless they wait. It is charged 
upon Israel in the wilderness, as the cause of their 
disobedience and ingratitude to God, thai they "wait- 
ed not for his councils." We may be sure it is our 

1 Isa, XXV. 9. 2 Isa. xxx. 18. 3 Isa. si. 31. 

* Isa. Ixiv. 4. s Jer, xiv. 22. Lament, iii. 25. IIos. xii. 6. 

* Mic. vii. 7. 



79 

duty, and expected from us ; for God requires it in 
Zephaniah: "Therefore wait upon me, saith the Lord, 
until the day that I arise, &c."^ that all who pro- 
fess the name of God, would wait so, and not offer to 
arise to worship without him ! and they would feel his 
stirrings and arisings in them, to help, and prepare, 
and sanctify them. Christ expressly charged his dis- 
ciples, they should not stir from Jerusalem, but wait 
till they had received the promise of the Father, the 
baptism of the Holy Ghost, in order to their prepa- 
ration for the preaching of the glorious gospel of 
Christ to the world. "^ And though that were an 
extraordinary effusion for an extraordinary work, yet 
the deorree does not change the kind. On the con- 
trary, if so much waiting and preparation by the 
Spirit was requisite to fit them to preach to man ; 
some, at least, may be needful to fit us to speak to 
God. 

Sect. 12. I will close this great scripture doctrine 
of waiting, with that passage in John, about the pool 
of Bethesda. " There is at Jerusalem, by the sheep- 
market, a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue 
Bethesda, having five porches, in these lay a great 
multitude of impotent folks, of blind, halt, and wither- 
ed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an 
angel went down at a certain season into the pool, 
and troubled the water : whosoever then first after 
the troubling of the water, stepped in, was made whole 
of whatsoever disease he had."^ A most exact repre- 
sentation of what is intended by all that has been said 
upon the subject of waiting. For as there was then 
an outward and legal, so there is now a gospel and 

1 Zeph. iii. 8. - Acts i. 4—8. ' John v. 2, 3, i. 



80 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

spiritual Jerusalem, the churcli of God, consivSting of 
the faithful. The pool in that old Jerusalem, in some 
sort, represented that fountain, which is now set open 
in the new Jerusalem. That pool was for those that 
were under infirmities of body ; this fountain for all 
that are impotent in soul. There was an angel then 
that moved the water to render it beneficial ; it is 
God's angel now, the great angel of his presence, that 
blesseth this fountain with success. They that then 
went in before, and did not watch the angel, and take 
advantage of his motion, found no benefit of their 
stepping in : those that now wait not the moving of 
God's angel, but by the devotion of their own forming 
and timing, rush before God, as the horse into the 
battle, and hope for success, are sure to miscarry in 
their expectations. Therefore, as then, they waited 
with all patience and intention upon. the angel's mo- 
tion, that wanted and desired to be cured; so do the 
true worshippers of God now, that need and pray for 
his presence, Avhich is the life of their souls, as the 
sun is to the plants of the field. They have often 
tried the unprofitableness of their own work, and are 
now come to the sabbath indeed. They dare not put 
up a device of their own, or offer an unsanctified re- 
quest, much less obtrude bodily worship, where the 
soul is really insensible or unprepared by the Lord. 
In the light of Jesus they ever wait to be prepared, 
retired, and recluse from all thoughts that cause the 
least distraction and discomposure in the mind, till 
they see the angel move, and till their beloved please 
to wake: nor dare they call him before his time. And 
they fear to make a devotion in his absence ; for they 
know it is not only unprofitable, but reprovable : 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 81 

" Who has required this at your hands ?" " He that 
believes makes not haste. "^ They that worship with 
their ovrn, can only do as the Israelites, turn their 
ear-rings into a molten image, and be cursed for their 
pains. Nor fared they better, that gathered sticks of 
old, and kindled a fire, and compassed themselves 

' about with the sparks that they had kindled ;^ for 
God told them, ''they should lie down in sorrow." 
It should not only be of no advantage, and do them 
no good, but incur a judgment from him ; sorrow and 
anguish of soul shall be their portion. Alas ! flesh 
and blood would fain pray, though it cannot wait ; 
and be a saint, though it cannot abide to do or suffer 
the will of God. With the tongue it blesses God, and 
with the tongue it curses men, made in his similitude. 
It calls Jesus Lord, but not by the Holy Ghost ; and 
often names the name of Jesus, yea, bows the knee to 
it too, but departs not from iniquity : this is abomi- 
nable to God. 

Sect. 13. In short, there are four things so neces- 
sary to worshipping of God aright, and which put 
its performance beyond man's power, that there seems 
little more needed than the naming of them. The 

» first is, the sanctification of the worshipper. Sec- 
ondly, the consecration of the offering, which has been 
spoken to before somewhat largely. Thirdly, what 
to pray for ; which no man knows, that prays not by 
the aid of God's spirit ; and, therefore, without that 
spirit no man can truly pray. This the apostle put 
beyond dispute ; " We know not (says he) what we 
should pray for, as we ought, but the Spirit helpeth 
our infirmities."^ Men unacquainted with the work 

1 Isa. i. 12. ch. xxviii. 16. = laa. 1. 11. ^ Rom. viii. 26. 

6 



82 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

and 'power of the Holy Spirit, are ignorant of the 
mind of God : and those, certainly, can never please 
him with their prayers. It is not enough to know, 
we want ; but we should learn, whether it be not sent 
us as a blessing: disappointments to the proud, losses to 
the covetous, and to the negligent stripes : to remove 
these, were to secure the destruction, not help the sal- 
vation of the soul. 

The vile world knows nothing, but carnally, after a 
fleshly manner and interpretation ; and too many that 
would be thought enlightened, are apt to call provi- 
dences by wrong names. For instance, afflictions they 
stile judgments ; and trials, more precious than the 
beloved gold, they call miseries. On the other hand, 
they call the preferments of the world by the name 
of honour, and its wealth, happiness : when for once 
that they are so, it is much to be feared they are sent 
of God an hundred times for judgments, at least trials, 
upon their possessors. Therefore, what to keep, what 
to reject,. what to want, is a difficulty God only can 
resolve the soul. And since God knows better than 
we, what we need, he can better tell us what to ask, 
than we can him : which made Christ exhort his dis- 
ciples to avoid long and repetitious prayers ; telling 
them, that their heavenly Father knew what they 
needed, before they asked :^ and therefore gave them 
a pattern to pray by : not as some fancy, to be a text 
to human liturgies, which of all services are most 
justly noted and taxed for length and repetition ; but 
expressly to reprove and avoid them. But if those 
wants that are the subject of prayer, were once agreed 
upon, though that be a mighty point ; yet how to pray 

1 Matt. vi. 7, 8. 



NO CROSS, NO CRO^YN. 83 

is still of greater moment, than to pray ; it is not the 
request, but the frame of the petitioner's spirit. The 
what maybe proper, but the how defective. As I 
said, God need not be told of our wants by us, who 
must tell them to us; yet he will be told them from us, 
that both we may seek him, and he may come down 
to us. But when this is done, "" To this man will I 
look, saith the Lord, even to him that is poor, and of 
a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word :"^ 
To the sick heart, the wounded soul, the hungry and 
thirsty, the weary and heavy laden ones ; such sin- 
cerely want an helper. 

Sect. 14. Nor is this sufficient to complete gospel- 
worship ; the fourth requisite must be had, and that 
is faith ; true faith, precious faith, the faith of God's 
chosen that purifies their hearts, that overcomes the 
world, and is the victory of the saints.^ This is that 
which animates prayer and presses it home, like the 
importunate widow, that would not be denied ; to whom 
Christ, seeming to admire, said, " woman, great is 
thy faith. "^ This is of highest moment on our part, 
to give our addresses success with God ; and yet not 
in our power neither, for it is the gift of God : from 
him we must have it ; and with one grain of it more 
work is done, more deliverance is wrought, and more 
goodness and mercy received, than by all the run- 
nings, willings, and toilings of man, with his inven- 
tions and bodily, exercises. Which, duly weighed, will 
easily spell out the meaning, why so much worship 
should bring so little profit to the world, as we see it 
does, viz. True faith is lost. They ask, and receive 

1 Isa. Ixvi. 2. 

1 Tim. i. 5. Acts xv. 9. Tit. i. 1. 2 Pet. i. 1. 1 Jobn v. 4. 

» Matt. XV. 28. 



84 NO CROSS, NO CROWN, 

not ; they seek, and find not ; they knock, and it is 
not opened unto them :^ the case is plain : their re- 
quests are not mixed "with purifying faith, by which 
they should prevail, as good Jacob's were, when he 
wrestled with God, and prevailed. And the truth is, 
the generality are yet in their sins, following their 
hearts' lusts, and living in worldly pleasures, being 
strangers to this precious faith. It is the reason 
rendered, by the deep author, to the Hebrews, of the 
unprofitableness of the word preached to some of those 
days ; " not being (says he) mixed with faith in them 
that heard it." Can the minister then preach with- 
out faith ? Ko, and much less can any man pray to 
purpose without faith, especially when we are told, 
" That the just live by faith." For worship is the 
supreme act of man's life ; and whatever is necessary 
to inferior acts of religion, must not be w^anting there. 
Sect. 15. This may moderate the wonder in any, 
why Christ so often upbraided his disciples with, '' 
ye of little faith!" yet tells us, that one grain of it, 
though as little as that of mustard, one of the least 
of seeds if true and right, is able to remove mountains. 
As if he had said, there is no temptation so powerful, 
that it cannot supply : wherefore those that are capti- 
vated by temptations, and remain unsupplied in their 
spiritual wants, have not this powerful faith : that is 
the true cause. So necessary was it of old, that 
Christ did not many mighty works where the people 
believed not, and though his power wrought wonders 
in other places, faith opened the way : so that it is 
hard to say, whether that power by faith, or faith by 
that power, wrought the cure. Let us call to mind 

* Jam. iv. 3. 



85 

•what famous things a little clay and spittle, one touch 
of the hem of Christ's garment, and a few words out 
of his mouth did, by the force of faith in the patients: 
" Believe ye that I am able to open your eyes?" Yea, 
Lord, say the blind, and see. To the ruler, only be- 
lieve : he did, and his dead daughter recovered life. 
x\gain, " If thou canst believe : I do believe," says 
the father, "help my unbelief ;"* and the evil spirit 
was chased away, and the child recovered. He said 
to one, " Go, thy faith has made thee whole." And 
to another, •' Thy faith has saved thee ; thy sins are 
forgiven thee."^ And to encourage his disciples to 
believe, that were admiring how soon his sentence was 
executed upon the fruitless fig-tree, he tells them, 
" Yerily, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not 
only do this, which is done to the fig-tree ; but also, 
if ye shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed 
and cast into the sea, it shall be done, and all things 
whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall 
receive."^ This one passage convicts Christendom of 
gross infidelity ; for she prays, and receives not. 

Sect. 16. But, may some say, it is impossible to 
receive all that a man may ask. It is not impossible 
to receive all that a man, that so believes, can ask. 
The fruits of faith are not impossible to those that 
truly believe in the God that makes them possible.'* 
When Jesus said to the ruler, "If thou canst be- 
lieve," he adds, " all things are possible to him that 
believeth."* Well, but then some will say, it is im- 
possible to have such faith : for this very faithless 
generation would excuse their want of faith by making 

1 John ix. 6. Luke viii. 47, 48. Matt. ix. 29, 30. Matt. ix. 23. 

2 Mark x. 52. Luke vii. 49, 50. = Matt. xxi. 20, 21, 22. 
* Matt, xviii. 19. Luke xviii. 27. * Mark ix. 23. 



86 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

it impossible to have the faith the j want. But Christ's 
answer to the infidelity of that age, will best confute 
the disbelief of this. "The things that are impossible 
with men, are possible with God."^ It will follow then, 
that it is not impossible with God to give that faith ; 
though it is certain, that "without it, it is impossible to 
please God;"^ for so the author to the Hebrews teaches. 
And if it be else impossible to please God, it must be 
so to pray to God without this precious faith. 

Sect. 17. But some may say, what is this faith, 
that is so necessary to worship, and that gives it such 
acceptance with God, and returns that benefit to men ? 
I say, it is an holy resignation to God, and confidence 
in him, testified by a religious obedience to his holy 
requirings, which gives sure evidence to the soul of 
the things not yet seen, and a general sense and taste 
of the substance of those things that are hoped for; 
that is, the glory which is to be revealed hereafter. 
As this faith is the gift of God, so it purifies the hearts 
of those that receive it. The apostle Paul is witness, 
that it will not dwell, but in a pure conscience: he 
therefore in one place, couples a pure heart and faith 
unfeigned together : in another, faith and a good con- 
science. James joins faith with righteousness, and John 
with victory over the world: "This," says he, "is the 
victory which overcomes the world, even your faith."*' 
\ Sect. 18. The heirs of this faith are the true 
children of Abraham (though the uncircumcision in 
the flesh) in that they walk in the steps of father 
Abraham, according to the obedience of faith, which 
only entitles people to be the children of Abraham.'* 

1 Matt. xix. 24, 25, 26. Luke xviii. 25, 26, 27. 2 Heb. xi. 6. 
3 1 Tim. iii. 9. eh. i. 5, James ii. 1 John v. 4. ■• Rom. iv. 12. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 87 

This lives above the world, not only in its sin, hut 

righteousness ; to which no man comes, out through 
death to self, by the cross of JesUvS, and an entire 
dependence, by him, upon God.* 

Famous are the exploits of this divine gift : time 
would fail to recount them ; all sacred story is filled 
with them. But let it suffice, that by it the holy an- 
cients endured all trials, overcame all enemies, pre- 
vailed with God, renowned his truth, finished their 
testimony, and obtained the reward of the faithful, a 
crown of rigrhteousness. which is the eternal blessed- 
ness of the just. 



CHAPTER yil. 

Sect. 1. Of pride, the first capital lust, its rise. 2. Its definition and 
distinction. 3. That an inordinate desire of knowledge in Adain, in- 
troduced man's misery. 4. He thereby lost his integrity. 5. Who are 
in Adam's state. 6. Knowledge puS"s up. 7. The evil efi'ects of fiilse, 
and the benefit of true knowledge. 8. Cain's example a proof in the 
case. 9. The Jews' pride in pretending to be wiser than Moses, God's 
servant, in setting their post by God's post. 10. The eS"ect of which 
was the persecution of the true prophets. 11. The divine knowledge 
of Christ brought peace on earth. 12. Of the blind guides, the priests, 
and the mischief they have done. ]3. The fall of Christians, and the 
pride they have taken in it, hath exceeded the Jews : under the pro- 
fession of their new-moulded Christianity, they have murdered the 
witness of the Lord Jesus. 14. The angels sang peace on earth, at the 
birth of the Lord of meekness and humility ; but the pride of the 
Pharisees withstood and calumniated him. 15. As Adam and the 
Jews lost themselves by their ambition, so the Christians, losing the 
fear of God, grew creed and worship-makers, with this injunction, 
Conform or burn. 16. The evil effects of this in Christendom (so 
called). 17. The way of recovery out of such miserable defection. 

Sect. 1. Having thus discharged my conscience 
against that part of unlawful self, that fain would be 
a Christian, a believer, a saint, whilst a plain strnngor 
to the cross of Christ, and the holy exercises of ic ; 

^ John xvi. 9, 10. 



88 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

and in that briefly discovered what is true worship, 
and the use and business of the holy cross, therein to 
render its performance pleasing to Almighty God ; I 
shall now, the same Lord assisting me, more largely 
prosecute that other part of unlawful self, which fills 
the study, care, and conversation of the world, pre- 
sented to us in these three capital lusts ; that is to 
say, 

Pride, avarice, and luxury ; from whence all other 
mischiefs daily flow, as streams from their proper 
fountains : the mortifying of which makes up the 
other ; and indeed a very great part of the work of 
the true cross ; and though last in place, yet first in 
experience and duty ; which done, it introduces in the 
room of those evil habits, the blessed effiects of that 
so-much needed reformation, to wit, " mOTtification, 
humility, temperance, love, patience,, and heavenly- 
mindedness,"^ with all other graces of the Spirit, be- 
coming the followers of the perfect Jesus, that most 
heavenly man. 

The care and love of mankind are either directed 
to God or themselves. Those that love God above all, 
are ever humbling self to his commands, and only 
love self in subserviency to him that is Lord of all. 
But those that are declined from that love to God, 
are lovers of themselves more than God : for supreme 
love must center in one of these two. To that inor- 
dinate self-love, the apostle rightly joins proud and 
high-minded.^ For no sooner had the angels declined 
their love, duty, and reverence to God, than they in- 
ordinately loved and valued themselves ; which made 
them exceed their station, and aspire above the order 

' aal. V. 22, 23. 2 2 Tim. iii. 2, 3. 



89 

of their creation. This was their pride, and this sad 
defection their dismal fall : who are reserved in chains 
of darkness unto the judgment of the great day of 
God. 

Sect. 2. Pride, that pernicious evil, which begins 
this chapter, did also begin the misery of mankind : a 
most mischievous quality; and so commonly known 
by its motions, and sad effects, that every unmortified 
breast carries its definition in it. However, I will 
say, in short, that pride is an excess of self-love, 
joined with an undervaluing of others, and a desire of 
dominion over them : the most troublesome thing in 
the world. There are four things by which it hath 
made itself best known to mankind, the consequences 
of which have brought an equal misery to its evil. 
The first is, an inordinate pursuit of knowledge. The 
second, an ambitious seeking and craving after power. 
The third, an extreme desire of personal respect and 
deference. The last excess is that of worldly furniture 
and ornaments. To the just and true witness of the 
eternal God, placed in the souls of all people, I ap- 
peal as to the truth of these things. 

Sect. 3. To the first, it is plain that an inordinate 
desire of knowledge introduced man's misery, and 
brought an universal lapse from the glory of his primi- 
tive state. Adam would needs be wiser than God had 
made him. It did not serve his turn to know his 
Creator, and give him that holy homage, his being 
and innocence naturally engaged and excited him to ; 
nor to have an " understanding above all the beasts of 
the field, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the 
sea,"' joined with a power to rule over all the visible 

1 Cen. 11. 19—29, 



90 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

creation of God, but he must be as wise as God too.^ 
This unwarrantable search, and as foolish as unjust 
ambition, made him unworthy of the blessings he re- 
ceived from God. This drives him out of paradise; 
and instead of being lord of the whole world, Adam 
becomes the wretchedest vagabond of the earth.^ 

Sect. 4. A strange change ! that instead of being 
as gods, they should fall below the very beasts; in 
comparison of whom even God had made them as gods. 
The lamentable consequence of this great defection 
has been an exchange of innocency for guilt, and a 
paradise for a wilderness. But, which is yet worse, in 
this state Adam and Eve had got another god than the 
only true and living God : and he that had enticed 
them to all this mischief, furnished them with a vain 
knowledge, and pernicious wisdom : the skill of lies 
and equivocations, shifts, evasions, and excuses. They 
had lost their plainness and sincerity ; and from an up- 
right heart, the image in which God had made man, he 
became a crooked, twining, twisting serpent ; the image 
of that unrighteous spirit, to whose temptations he 
yielded up, with his obedience, his paradisical happi- 
ness. 

Sect. 5. Nor is this limited to Adam; for all who 
have fallen short of the glory of God, are right-born 
sons of his disobedience. They, like him, have eaten 
of what they have been forbidden: they have "com- 
mitted the things they ought not to have done, and 
left undone the things they ought to have done."^ They 
have sinned against that divine light of knowledge, 
which God has given them: they have grieved his 
spirit: and that dismal sentence has been executed, 

» Gen. iii. 5. ° Chap. iii. 4. ^ Rom. vii. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 91 

."In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt die."^ 
That is, when thou doest the thing which thou oughtest 
not to do, thou shalt no more live in my favour, and 
enjoy the comforts of the peace of my spirit ; which 
is a dying to all those innocent and holy desires and 
affections, which God created man with : and he be- 
comes as one cold and benumbed ; insensible of the 
•love of God, of his Holy Spirit, power and wisdom ; 
of the light and joy of his countenance, and of the 
evidence of a good conscience, and the co-witnessing 
and approbation of God's Holy Spirit. 

Sect. 6. So that fallen Adam's knowledge of God 
stood no more in a daily experience of the love and 
work of God in his soul, but in a notion of what he 
once did know and experience ; which being not the 
true and living wisdom that is from above, but a mere 
pictui-e, it cannot preserve man in purity ; but puffs 
up, makes people proud, high minded, and impatient 
of contradiction. This was the state of the apostate 
Jews before Christ came ; and has been the condition 
of apostate Christians ever since he came : their reli- 
gion standing, some bodily performances excepted, 
either in what they once knew of the work of God in 
themselves, and which they have revolted from ; or in 
an historical belief, and an imaginary conception and 
paraphrase upon the experiences and prophecies of 
such holy men and women of God, as in all ages have 
deserved the style and character of his true children. 

Sect. 7. As such a knowledge of God cannot be 
true, so by experience we find, that it ever brings 
forth the quite contrary fruits to the true wisdom. 
For as this is first pure, then peaceable, then gentle, 

' Gen. ii. 17. 



92 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

and easy to be entreated : so the knowledge of degene- 
rated and unmortified men is first impure:^ for it 
came by the commission of evil, and is held in an 
evil and impure conscience and heart, that disobey 
(jod's law, and that daily do those things which they 
ought not to do ; and for which they stand condemned 
before God's judgment-seat in the souls of men : the 
light of whose presence searches the most hidden 
things of darkness, the most secret thoughts, and con- 
cealed inclination of ungodly men. This is the science, 
falsely so called ; and as it is impure, so it is unpeace- 
able, cross and hard to be entreated; froward, per- 
verse, and persecuting : jealous that any should be 
better than they, and hating and abusing those that 
are. 

Sect. 8. It was this pride made Cain a murderer : 
it is a spiteful quality ; full of envy and revenge.^ 
What ! was not his religion and worship as good as his 
brother's ? He had all the exterior parts of worship : 
he offered as well as Abel, and the offering of itself 
might be as good ; but it seems the heart, that offered 
it, was not. So long ago did God regard the interior 
worship of the soul. Well ! what was the consequence 
of this difference ? Cain's pride stomached it : he 
could not bear to be outdone by his brother. He grew 
wrathful, and resolved to vindicate his offering, by 
revenging the refusal of it upon his brother's life ; and 
w^ithout any regard to natural affection, or the low 
and early condition of mankind, he barbarously dyed 
his hands in his brother's blood. 

Sect. 9. The religion of the apostatized Jews did 
no better ; for, having lost the inward life, power, and 

1 Jam. iii. 17. 2 Gen. iv. 8. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 93 

spirit of the law, they were puffed up with that know- 
ledge they had; and their pretences to Abraham, 
Moses, and the promises of God, in that frame, served 
only to blow them up into an unsufferable pride, arro- 
gance and cruelty. For they could not bear true vi- 
sion, when it came to visit them, and entertained the 
messengers of their peace as if they had been wolves 
and tigers. 

Sect. 10. Yea, it is remarkable, the false prophets, 
the great engineers against the true ones, were ever 
sure to persecute them as false ; and by their interest 
with earthly princes, or the poor seduced multitude, 
made them the instruments of their malice. Thus it 
was that one holy prophet was sawn asunder, another 
stoned to death, &c. So proud and obstinate is false 
knowledge, and the aspirers after it ; which made holy 
Stephen cry out, " ye stiff-necked, and uncircum- 
cised in heart and ear, ye resist the Holy Ghost ; as 
did your fathers, so do ye."^ 

Sect. 11. The true knowledge came with the joy 
of angels, singing, '* peace on earth, and good will 
towards men :"^ the false knowledge entertained the 
message with calumnies : Christ must needs be an 
impostor ; and that must prove him so, to wit, his 
power of working of miracles ; which was that which 
proved the contrary. They stoned him, and fre- 
quently sought to kill him ; which at last they wick- 
edly accomplished. But what was their motive to it? 
Why, he cried out against their hypocrisy, the broad 
phylacteries, the honour they sought of men. To be 
short, they give the reason themselves in these words; 
" If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on 

1 Acts vii. 51. 2 L^]ie n 14, 



94 

him:"^ that is, he will take away our credit with the 
people ; they will adhere to him, and desert us ; and 
so we shall lose our power m^ reputation with the 
multitude. 

Sect. 12. And, the truth is, he came to level their 
honour, to overthrow their rahbiship, and by his grace 
to bring the people to that inward knowledge of God, 
which they, by transgression, were departed from : 
that so they might see the deceitfulness of their blind 
guides, who, by their vain traditions, had made void 
the righteousness of the law : and who were so far 
from being the true doctors, and lively expounders of 
it, that in reality they were the children of the devil, 
who was a proud liar, and cruel murderer from the 
beginning. 

Sect. 13. Their pride in false knowledge having 
made them incapable of receiving the simplicity of the 
gospel, Christ thanks his Father, that he had hid the 
mysteries of it from the wise and prudent, and re- 
vealed them to babes. ^ It was this false w^isdom 
swelled the minds of the Athenians to that degree, 
that they despised the preaching of the apostle Paul, 
as a vain and foolish thing. But that apostle, who of 
all the rest had an education in the learning of those 
times, bitterly reflects on that wisdom, so much valued 
by Jews and G-reeks : '' Where (says he) is the 
wise ? where is the scribe ? where is the disputer of 
this world ? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom 
of this world ?"^ And he gives a good reason for it, 
"that no flesh should glory in his presence."'' Which 
is to say, God will stain the pride of man in false 
knowledge, that he should have nothing on this occa- 

> 1 John xi. 48. - Matt. xi. 25. ' 1 Cor. i. 20. * 1 Cor. i. 29. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 95 

sion to be proud of ; it should be owing only to the 
revelation of the Spirit of God. The apostle goes 
farther, and affirms, " that the world by wisdom knew 
not God :"^ that is, it was so far from an help, that, 
as men use it, it was an hindrance to the true know- 
ledge of God. And in his first epistle to his beloved 
Timothy, he concludes thus : " Timothy ! keep that 
t which is committed to thy trust; avoiding profane and 
vain babblings, and oppositions of science, falsely so 
i called;"^ This was the sense of apostolical times, 
I when the divine grace gave the true knowledge of 
i God, and was the guide of Christians. 
i Sect. 14. Well ! but what has been the success of 
I those ages, that followed the apostolical ? any whit 
1 better than that of the Jewish tim^es ? Not one jot. 
jl They have exceeded them ; as with their pretences to 
ii greater knowledge, so in their degeneracy from the 
': true Christian life ; for though they had a more ex- 
li cellent pattern than the Jews, to whom God spoke by 
Moses his servant, he, speaking to them by his be- 
loved Son, the express image of his substance, the 
perfection of all meekness and humility ; and though 
they seemed addicted to nothing more, than an ador- 
ation of his name, and a veneration to the memory of 
his blessed disciples and apostles ; yet so great was 
their defection from the inward power and life of 
Christianity in the soul, that their respect was 
little more than formal and ceremonious. For not- 
withstanding they, like the Jews, were mighty zealous 
in garnishing their sepulchres, and curious in carving 
of their images ; not only keeping with any pretence 
what might be the relics of their persons, but re- 

u, 1 1 Cor. i. 21. « 1 Tim. vi. 20. 



96 

commending a thousand things as relics which are 
purely fabulous, and very often ridiculous and to be 
sure altogether unchristian : yet, as to the great and 
weighty things of the Christian law, viz. love, meek- 
ness, and self-denial, they were degenerated : they 
grew high-minded, proud, boasters, without natural 
affection, curious and controversial ; ever perplexing 
the church with doubtful and dubious questions : fill- 
ing the people with disputations, strife and wrangling, 
drawing them into parties, till at last they fell into 
blood ; as if they had been the worse for being once 
Christians. 

the miserable state of these pretended Christians ! 
that instead of Christ's and his apostles' doctrine, of 
loving enemies, and blessing them that curse them, 
they should teach the people, under the notion of 
Christian zeal, most inhumanly to butcher one another ; 
and instead of suffering their own blood to be shed 
for the testimony of Jesus, they should shed the blood 
of the witnesses of Jesus, for heretics : thus that sub- 
tile serpent, or crafty evil-spirit, that tempted Adam 
out of innocency, and the Jews from the law of God, 
has beguiled the Christians, by lying vanities, to de- 
part from the Christian law of holiness, and so they 
are become slaves to him ; for he rules in the hearts 
of the children of disobedience. 

Sect. 15. And it is observable, that as pride, which 
is ever followed by superstition and obstinacy, put 
Adam upon seeking an higher station than God 
placed him in; and as the Jews, out of the same pride, 
to out-do their pattern, given them of God by Moses 
upon the mount, set their post by God's post, and 
taught for doctrines their own traditions, insomuch 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 97 

that those that refused conformity to them ran the 
hazard of Crucify, crucify ; so the nominal christians, 
from the same sin of pride, with great superstition 
and arrogance, have introduced, instead of a spiritual 
worship and discipline, that which is evidently cere- 
monious and worldly ; with such innovations and 
traditions of men, as are the fruit of the wisdom that 
is from below : witness their numerous and perplexed 
councils and creeds, with Conform, or burn, at the 
end of them. 

Sect. 16. And as this unwarrantable pride set them 
first at work, to pervert the spirituality of the Chris- 
tian cult, making it rather to resemble the shadowy 
religion of the Jews, and the gaudy worship of the Egyp- 
tians, than the great plainness and simplicity of the 
Christian institution, which is neither to resemble that 
of the mountain, nor the other of Jerusalem; so has 
the same pride and arrogancy spurred them on, by all 
imaginable cruelties, to maintain this great Diana of 
theirs. No meek supplications, nor humble remon- 
strances of those that kept close to primitive purity 
in worship and doctrine, could prevail with these 
nominal Christians, to dispense with the imposition 
of their un-apostolical traditions. But as the ministers 
and bishops of these degenerate Christians, left their 
painful visitation and care over Christ's flock, and 
grew ambitious, covetous, and luxurious, resembling 
rather worldly potentates, than the humble-spirited 
and mortified followers of the blessed Jesus: so almost 
every history tells us, with what pride and cruelty, 
blood and butchery, and that with unusual and ex- 
quisite tortures, they have persecuted the holy mem- 
bers of Christ, out of the world ; and that upon such 
7 



98 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

anathemas, that as far as they could, they have dis- 
appointed them of the blessings of heaven too. These, 
true Christians call martyrs ; but the clergy, like the 
persecuting Jews, have stiled them blasphemers and 
heretics ; in which they have fulfilled the prophecy of 
our Lord Jesus Christ; who did not say,- that they 
should think they do the gods good service to kill the 
Christians, his dear followers, which might refer to the 
persecutions of the idolatrous Gentiles, but that they 
should think they do God good service to kill them :^ 
which shews, that they should be such as professedly 
owned the true God, as the apostate Christians have 
all along pretended to do. So that they must be 
those wolves, that the apostle foretold should arise out 
of themselves, and worry the flock of Christ, after 
the great falling away should commence, that was 
foretold by him, and made necessary, in order to the 
proving of the faithful, and the revelation of the great 
mystery of iniquity.^ 

I shall conclude this head with this assertion, that 
it is too undeniable a truth, where the clergy has been 
most in power and authority, and has had the greatest 
influence upon princes and states, there has been most 
confusions, wrangles, blood-shed, sequestrations, im- 
prisonments, and exiles : to the justifying of which, I 
call the testimony of the records of all times. How 
it is in our age, I leave to the experience of the living : 
yet there is one demonstration that can hardly fail 
us : the people are not converted, but debauched, to a 
degree, that time will not allow us an example. The 
worship of Christendom is visible, ceremonious, and 
gaudy; the clergy ambitious of worldly preferments, 

» John xvL 2. - Acta xx. 29. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 99 

under the pretence of spiritual promotions ; making 
the earthly revenues of church-men, much the reason 
of their function ; being almost ever sure to leave the 
present smaller incumbence, to solicit and obtain bene- 
fices of larger title and income. So that with their 
pride and avarice, which good old Peter foresaw would 
be their snares, they have drawn after them, igno- 
rance, misery, and irreligion upon Christendom. 

Sect. 17. The way of recovery from this miserable 
defection is, to come to a saving knowledge of reli- 
gion: that is, an experience of the divine work of God 
in the soul ; to obtain which, be diligent to obey the 
grace that appears in thy own soul, man ! that 
brings salvation, it turns thee out of the broad way, 
into the narrow way ; from thy lusts to thy duty, from 
sin to holiness, from Satan to God.^ Thou must see 
and abhor self, thou must watch, and thou must pray, 
and thou must fast ; thou must not look at thy tempter, 
but at thy preserver ; avoid ill company, retire to thy 
solitudes, and be a chaste pilgrim in this evil world: 
and thus thou wilt arrive to the knowledge of God and 
Christ, that brings eternal life to the soul: a well- 
grounded assurance from what a man feels and knows 
within himself; such shall not be moved with evil 
tidings 

' Tit. ii. 4, 11, 12, 14. 



100 NO CROSS, NO CKOWN. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Sect. 1. Pride craves' jjower as well as knowledge, 2. The en so of 
Korah, <fec. a proof. 3. Absalom's ambition confirms it. 4. Nebu- 
chadnezzar's does the like. 5. The history of Pisistratus, Alexander, 
Caesar, &c. shews the same thing. 6. The Turks are a lively "proof, 
who have shed much blood to gratify pride for power. 7. The last ten 
years in Christendom exceed in proof of this. 8. Ambition rests not 
in courts, it finds room in private breasts too, and spoils families and 
societies. 9. Their peace is great, that limit their desires by God's 
grace, and having power, use it to the good of others. 

Sect. 1. But let us see the next most common, 
eminent, and mischievous effect of this evil. Pride 
does extremely crave power, than which, not one 
thing has proved more troublesome and destructive to 
mankind. I need not labour myself much in evi- 
dence of this, since most of the wars of nations, de- 
population of kingdoms, ruin of cities, with the slavery 
and misery that have followed, both our own expe- 
rience and unquestionable histories acquaint us to 
have been the effect of ambition, which is the lust of 
pride after power. 

Sect. 2. How specious soever might be the pre- 
tences of Korah, Dathan and Abiram against Moses, 
it was their emulation of his mighty power in the 
camp of Israel, that put them upon conspiracies and 
mutinies. They longed for his authority, and their 
not having it was his crime, for they had a mind to 
De the heads and leaders of the people. The conse- 
quence of which was, a remarkable destruction to them- 
selves, and all their unhappy accomplices. 

Sect. 3. Absalom too was for the people's rights, 
against the tyranny of his father and his king :' at 

' 2 Sam. XV. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 101 

least, with this pretence he palliated his ambition; but 
his rebellion shewed he was impatient for power, and 
that he resolved to sacrifice his duty, as a son and sub- 
ject, to the importunities of his restless pride, which 
brought a miserable death to himself, and an extra- 
ordinary slaughter upon his army. 

Sect. 4. Nebuchadnezzar is a lively instance of the 
excessive lust of pride for power. His successes and 
empire were too heady for him : so much too strong 
for his understanding, that he forgot he did not make 
himself, or that his power had a superior. He makes 
an image, and all must bow to it, or be burnt. And 
when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to 
comply, " Who, (says he) is that God that shall de- 
liver you out of my hands ?"^ And notwithstanding 
the convictions he had upon him, at the constancy of 
those excellent men, and Daniel's interpretation of his 
dreams, it was not long before the pride of his power 
had filled his heart, and then his mouth, with this 
haughty question, " Is not this great Babylon that I 
have built for the house of the kingdom by the might 
of my power, and for the honour of my majesty ?"2 
But we are told, that while the words were in his 
mouth, "a voice from heaven rebuked the pride of his 
spirit, and he was driven from the society of men, to 
graze among the beasts of the field." 

Sect. 5. If we look into the histories of the world, 
we shall find many instances to prove the mischief of 
this lust of pride. I will mention a few of them for 
their sakes, who have either not read or considered 
them. 

Solon made Athens free by his excellent constitu- 

1 Dan. iii. 15. a Dan. iv. 30. 



102 

tion of laws : but the ambition of Pisistratus began 
the ruin of it before bis eyes. Alexander, not con- 
tented with his own kingdom, invades others, and 
filled with spoil and slaughter those countries he sub- 
dued : and it was not ill said by him, who, when Alex- 
ander accused him of piracy, told him to his face, that 
Alexander was the greatest pirate in the world. It 
was the same ambition that made Csssar turn traitor 
to his masters, and with their own army, put into his 
hand for their service, subdue them to his yoke, and 
usurp the government ; which ended in the expulsion 
of freedom and virtue together in that commonwealth ; 
for goodness quickly grew to be faction in Rome; and 
that sobriety and wisdom, which ever rendered her 
senators venerable, became dangerous to their safety; 
insomuch that his successors hardly left one they did 
not kill or banish : unless such as turned to be flat- 
terers of their unjust acquisition, and the imitators of 
their debauched manners. 

Sect. 6. The Turks are a great proof to the point 
in hand ; who, to extend their dominion, have been 
the cause of shedding much blood, and laying many 
stately countries waste. And yet they are to be out- 
done by apostate Christians ; whose practice is there- 
fore more condemnable, because they have been better 
taught : they have had a master of another doctrine 
and example. It is true, they call him Lord still, but 
let their ambition reign : they love power more than 
one another ; and to get it, kill one another ; though 
charged by him, not to strive, but to love and serve 
one another.^ And, which adds to the tragedy, all 
natural affection is sacrificed to the fury of this lust : 

1 Matt, xviii. 1 to 6. Mark ix. 33 to 37. 



103 

and therefore are stories so often stained with the mur- 
der of parents, children, uncles, nephews, masters, &c. 

Sect. 7. If we look abroad into remoter parts of 
the world, we shall rarely hear of wars ; but in Chris- 
tendom, of peace. A very trifle is too often made a 
ground of quarrel here : nor can any league be so 
sacred or inviolable, that arts shall not be used to 
evade and dissolve it, to increase dominion. No mat- 
ter who, nor how many, are slain, made widows and 
orphans, or lose their estates and livelihoods : what 
countries are ruined ; what towns and cities spoiled ; 
if by all these things^ the ambitious can but arrive at 
their ends ? To go no farther back than sixty years, 
that little period of time will furnish us with many 
wars begun upon ill grounds, and ended in great 
desolation. Nay, the last twelve years of our time 
make as pregnant a demonstration, as we can furnish 
ourselves with from the records of any age. It is too 
tedious, nor is it my business to be particular : it has 
Deen often well observed by others, and is almost 
known to all ; I mean the French, Spanish, German, 
English, and Dutch wars. 

Sect. 8. But ambition does not only dwell in courts, 
and senates : it is too natural to every private breast 
to strain for power. We daily see how much men 
labour their utmost wit and interest to be great, to 
get higher places, or greater titles than they have, 
that they may look bigger, and be more acknowledged; 
take place of their former equals, and so equal those 
that were once their superiors ; compel friends, and 
be revenged on enemies. This makes Christianity so 
little loved of worldly men, it's kingdom is not of this 
world : and though they may speak it fair, it is the 



104 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

world they love ; that without uri charitableness we 
may truly say, people profess Christianity, but they 
follow the world. They are not for seeking the king- 
dom of heaven first,^ and the righteousness thereof, 
and to trust God with the rest ; but for securing to 
themselves the wealth and glory of this world, and 
adjourning the care of salvation to a sick-bed, and 
the extreme moments of life ; if yet they believe a 
life to come. 

Sect. 9. To conclude this head : great is their 
peace, who know a limit to their ambitious minds, that 
have learnt to be contented with the appointments and 
bounds of providence; that are not careful to be great, 
but being great, are humble, and do good. Such keep 
their wits with their consciences, and with an even 
mind, can at all times measure the uneven world, rest 
fixed in the midst of all its uncertainties, and as be- 
comes those who have an interest in a better, in the 
good time and will of God, cheerfully leave this ; when 
the ambitious, conscious of their evil practices, and 
weighed down to their graves with guilt, must go to a 
tribunal, that they can neither awe nor bribe 

1 Matt. V). 33. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Sect. 1. The third evil effect of pride, is love of honour and respect. 
Too many are guilty of it. 2. It had lilie to have cost Mordecai dear. 
Great mischief has befallen nations on this account. 3. The world is 
out in the business of true honour, as v^'ell as in that of true science. 
4. Reasons why the author, and the rest of the people he walks with, 
use not these fashions. 5. The first is, the sense they had in the hour 
of their conviction, of the unsuitableness of them to the Christian 
spirit and practice, and that the root they came from was pride and 
self-love. 6. Reproach could not move them from that sense and prac- 
tice accordingly. 7. They do it not to make sects, or for distinction. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 105 

8. Nor yet to countenance formality, but passively let drop vain cus- 
toms, and so are negative to forms. 9. Their behaviour is a test upon 
the world. 10. And this cross to the world a test upon them. 11. 
The second reason against them is their emptiness. 12. Honour in 
scripture, is not so taken as it is in the world. It is used for obedience. 
13. It is used for preferment. 14. A digression about folly in a scrip- 
ture sense. 15. Honour is used for reputation. 16. Honour is also 
attributed to functions and capacities, by way of esteem. 17. Honour 
is taken for help and countenance of inferiors. 18. Honour is used 
. for service and esteem to all states and capacities ; honour all men. 
19. Yet there is a limitation in a sense to the righteous by the Psalm- 
ist ; to honour the godly and contemn the wicked. 20. Little of this 
honour found in the world's fashions. 21. The third reason against 
them is, they mock and cheat people of the honour due to them. 22. 
The author and his friends are fur true honour. 23. The fourth rea- 
son is, that if the fashions carried true honour in them, the debauched 
could honour men, which, cannot be. 24. The fifth reason is, that 
then men of spite, hypocrisy, and revenge, could pay honour, which 
is impossible. 25. The sixth reason is drawn from the antiquity of 
true honour. 26. The seventh reason is from the rise of the vain hon- 
our, and the teachers of it, wherein the clown, upon a comparison, ex- 
cels the courtier for a man of breeding. 27. The eighth reason against 
these honours is, that they may be had for money, which true honour 
cannot be. 28. The ninth and last reason is, because the holy scripture 
expressly forbids them to true Christians. 29. As in the case of Mor- 
decai. 30. A passage between a bishop and the author in this matter. 
31. Likewise the case of Elihu in Job. 32. Also the doctrine of 
Christ to his disciples. 33. Paul against conforming to the world's 
fashions. 34. Peter against fashioning ourselves according to the 
world's lust. 35. James against respect to persons. 36. Yet Chris- 
^ tians are civil and mannerly in a right way. 37. But unlike the world 
-in the nature of it, and motives to it. 38. Testimonies in favour of 
our dissent and practice. 

Sect. 1. The third evil effect of pride is, an ex- 
cessive desire of personal honour and respect. 

Pride therefore loves power, that she might have 
homage, and that every one may give her honour; 
and such as are wanting in that, expose themselves to 
her anger and revenge. And as pride, so this evil 
effect, is more or less diffused through corrupt man- 
kind; and has been the occasion of great animosity 
and mischief in the world. 

Sect. 2. Wo have a pregnant instance in holy writ, 
what malice and revenge the stomach of proud man 
is capable of, when not gratified in this particular. It 
had almost cost Mordecai his neck, and the whole 



106 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

people of the Jews their lives, because he would not 
bow himself to Haman, who was a great favourite to 
king Ahasuerus. And the practice of the world, even 
in our own age, will tell us, that not striking a flag or 
sail ; and not saluting certain ports or garrisons ; yea, 
less things have given rise to mighty wars between 
states and kingdoms, to the expense of much treasure, 
but more blood. The like has followed about the pre- 
cedency of princes, and their ambassadors. Also the 
envy, quarrels and mischiefs, that have happened 
among private persons, upon conceit that they have 
not been respected to their degree of quality among 
men, with hat, knee, or title : to be sure duels and 
murders not a few. I was once myself in France^ 
set upon about eleven at night, as I was walking to 
my lodging, by a person that waylaid me, with his 
naked sword in his hand, who demanded satisfaction 
of me, for taking no notice of him, at a time when 
he civilly saluted me with his hat ; though the truth 
was, I saw him not when he did it. I will suppose 
he had killed me, for he made several passes at me, 
or I in my defence had killed him, when I disarmed 
him (as the earl of Crawford's servant saw, that was 
by) I ask any man of understanding or conscience, if 
the whole ceremony were worth the life of a man, 
considering the dignity of the nature, and the import- 
ance of the life of man, both with respect to God his 
Creator, himself, and the benefit of civil society ? 

Sect. 3. But the truth is, the world, under its de- 
generacy from God, is as much out of the way, as to 
true honour and respect, as in other things : for mere 
shews, and those vain ones too, are much of the 

^ Which was before I professefl the communion I am now of. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 107 

honour and respect that are expressed in the world : 
that a man may say concerning them as the apostle 
speaks of science, that is, they are honours and re- 
spects "falsely so called;" having nothing of the 
nature of true honour and respect in them; but as 
degenerate men, loving to be honoured, first devised 
them ; so pride only loves and seeks them, and is 
affronted and angry for want of them. Did men 
know a true Christian state, and the honour that 
comes from above, which Jesus teaches,' they would 
not covet these very vanities, much less insist upon 
them. 

Sect. 4. And here give me leave to set down the 
reasons more particularly, why I, and the people with 
whom I walk in religious society, have declined as 
yam and foolish, several worldly customs and fashions 
of respect, much in request at this time of day : and 
I beseech thee, reader, to lay aside all prejudice and 
scorn, and with the meekness and inquiry of a sober 
and discreet mind, read and weigh what may be here 
alleged in our defence: and if we are mistaken, rather 
pity and inform, than despise and abuse, our simplicity. 

Sect. 5. The first and most pressing motive upon 
our spirits to decline the practice of these present 
customs of pulling off the hat, bowing the body or 
knee, and giving people gaudy titles and epithets, in 
our salutations and addresses, was, that savour, sight, 
and sense, that God, by his light and spirit, has given 
us of the Christian world's apostacy from God, and 
the cause and effects of that great and lamentable 
defection. In the discovery of which, the sense of 
our state came first before us, and we were made to 

* John V. 44. 



108 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

see him whom we pierced, and to mourn for it. A 
day of humiliation overtook us, and we fainted to that 
pleasure and delight we once loved. Now our works 
went beforehand to judgment, and a thorough search 
was made, and the words of the prophet became well 
understood by us. "Who can abide the day of his com- 
ing ? And who shall stand when he appears ? He 
is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap."^ And, 
as the apostle said, " If the righteous scarcely be 
saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" 
" Wherefore, says the apostle Paul, knowing the ter- 
rors of the Lord, we persuade men:"^ what to do? To 
come out of the nature, spirit, lusts, and customs of 
this wicked world; remembering that, as Jesus has 
said, for every idle word that man speaketh, he shall 
give an account in the day of judgment.^ 

This concern of mind, and dejection of spirit, was 
visible to our neighbours ; and we are not ashamed to 
own, that the terrors of the Lord took such hold upon 
as, because we had long under a profession of religion 
grieved God's Holy Spirit, that reproved us in secret 
for our disobedience ; that as we abhorred to think of 
continuing in our old sins, so we feared to use lawful 
things, lest we should use them unlawfully. The 
words of the prophet were fulfilled on us : " Where- 
fore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, 
as a woman in travail?"'* Many a pang and throe 
have we had ; our heaven seemed to melt away, and 
our earth to be removed out of its place; and we were 
like men, as the apostle said, " upon whom the ends 
of the world were come." God knows it was so in 

1 Mai. iii. 2. 2 l Pet. iv. 18. 2 Cor. v. 11. 

" Mat. xii. 36. * Jer. xxx. 6. 



NO CllOSS, NO GROWN. 109 

this day, the brightness of his coming to our souls dis- 
covered, and the breath of his mouth destroyed, every 
plant he had not planted in us. He was a swift wit- 
ness against every evil thought, and every unfruitful 
work : and, blessed be his name, we were not offended 
in him, or at his righteous judgments. Now it was, 
that a grand inquest came upon our whole life : every 
word, thought and deed was brought to judgment: the 
root examined, and its tendency considered. " The 
lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of 
life, were opened to our view ; the mystery of iniquity 
in us."^ And by knowing the evil leaven, and its 
divers evil effects in ourselves, how it had wrought, 
and what it had done, we came to have a sense and 
knowledge of the states of others : and what we could 
not, nay, we dare not let live and continue in our- 
selves, as being manifested to us to proceed from an 
evil principle in the time of man's degeneracy, we 
could not comply with in others. Now this I say, and 
that in the fear and presence of the all-seeing just 
God, the present honours and respect of the world, 
among other things, became burdensome to us ; we 
saw they had no being in paradise, that they grew in 
the night-time, and came from an ill root ; and that 
they only delighted a vain and ill mind, and that 
much pride and folly were in them. 

Sect. 6. And though we easily foresaw the storms 
of reproach that would fall upon us, for our refusing 
to practise them; yet we were so far from being 
shaken in our judgment, that it abundantly confirmed 
our sense of them. For so exalted a thing is man, 
and so loving of honour and respect even from his 

1 1 John ii. 16. 



110 NO CROSS, NO CKOWN. 

fellow-creatures, that so soon as in tenderness of con- 
science towards God, we could not perform them, as 
formerly, he became more concerned than for all the 
rest of our differences, however material to salvation. 
So that let the honour of God, and our own salvation, 
do as it will, it was greater heresy and blasphemy to 
refuse him the homage of the hat and his usual titles 
of honour; to deny to pledge his healths, or play with 
him at cards and dice, than any other principle we 
maintained ; for being less in his view, it seemed not 
so much in his way. 

Sect. 7. And though it be frequently objected, 
that we seek to set up outward forms of preciseness, 
and that it is but as a green ribbon, the badge of the 
party, the better to be known : I do declare in the 
fear of Almighty God, that these are but the imagi- 
nations and vain constructions of unsensible men, that 
have not had that sense, which the lord hath given us, 
of what arises from the right and the wrong root in 
man : and when such censurers of our simplicity shall 
be inwardly touched and awakened, by the mighty 
power of God, and see things as they are in their 
proper natures and seeds, they will then know their 
own burden, and easily acquit us without the imputa- 
tion of folly or hypocrisy therein. 

Sect. 8. To say, that we strain at small things, 
which becomes not people of so fair pretensions to 
liberty and freedom of spirit : I answer with meekness, 
truth and sobriety; first, nothing is small, that God 
makes matter of conscience to do, or leave undone, 
Next, as inconsiderable as they are made, by those 
that object upon us, they are much set by; so greatly, 
as for our not giving them, to be beaten, imprisoned, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. Ill 

refused justice, &c. To say nothing of the derision 
and reproach that hath been frequently flung at us on 
this account. So that if we had wanted a proof of the 
truth of our inward belief and judgment, the very 
practice of them that opposed it would have abundantly 
confirmed us. But let it suffice to us, that "wisdom 
is justified of her children:"^ we only passively let 
fall the practice of what we are taught to believe is 
vain and unchristian; in which we are negative to 
forms ; for we leave off, we do not set up forms. 

Sect. 9. The world is so set upon the ceremonious 
part and outside of things, that it has well beseemed 
the wisdom of God in all ages, to bring forth his dis- 
pensations with very difi'erent appearances to their 
settled customs ; thereby contradicting human inven- 
tions, and proving the integrity of his confessors. 
Nay, it is a test upon the world : it tries what patience, 
kindness, sobriety, and moderation they have: if the 
rough and homely outside of truth stumble not their 
minds from the reception of it, whose beauty is within, 
it makes a great discovery upon them. For he who 
refuses a precious jewel, because it is presented in a 
plain box, will never esteem it to its value, nor set his 
heart upon keeping it: therefore I call it a test, be- 
cause it shews where the hearts and affections of peo- 
ple stick, after all their great pretences to more ex- 
cellent things. 

Sect. 10. It is also a mighty trial upon God's 
people, in that they are put upon the discovery of 
their contradiction to the customs generally received 
and esteemed in the world ; which exposes them to the 
wonder, scorn, and abuse of the multitude. But 

1 Matt. xi. 19 



112 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

there is an hidden treasure in it ; it inures us to re- 
proach, it learns us to despise the false reputation of 
the world, and silently to undergo the contradiction 
and scorn of its votaries ; and finally, with a Christian 
meekness and patience, to overcome their injuries 
and reproaches. Add to this ; it weans thee off thy 
familiars ; for by being slighted of them as a ninney, 
a fool, a frantic, &c. thou art delivered from a greater 
temptation, and that is, the power and influence of 
their vain conversation. And last of all, it lists thee 
of the company of the blessed, mocked, persecuted 
Jesus; to fight under his banner, against the world, the 
flesh, and the devil : that after having faithfully suf- 
fered with them in a state of humiliation, thou mayest 
reign with him in a state of glorification ; who glorifies 
his poor, despised, constant followers, with the glory 
he had with his father before the world began.* This 
was the first reason of our declining to practise the 
before-mentioned honours, respects, &c. 

Sect. 11. The second reason, why we decline and 
refuse the present use of these customs in our adresses 
and salutations is, from the consideration of their very 
emptiness and vanity; that there is nothing of true 
honour and respect in them, supposing them not to be 
evil. And as religion and worship are degenerated 
into form and ceremony, and they not according to 
primitive practice neither, so is honour and respect 
too ; there being little of that in the world, as well as 
of the other ; and to be sure, in these customs, none 
that is justifiable by scripture or reason. 

Sect. 12. In scripture, we find the word Honour 
often and diversely used. First, for obedience: as when 

1 John xvii. 5. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 113 

God saith, " They that honour me ;"* that is, that 
keep my commandments. " Honour the king ;"2 that 
is, obey the king. " Honour thy father and mother;"^ 
that is, saith the apostle to the Ephesians, " Obey 
thy father and thy mother in the Lord, for that is 
right ;"'' take heed to their precepts and advice ; pre- 
supposing always, that rulers and parents command 
lawful things, else they dishonour themselves to enjoin 
unlawful things ; and subjects and children dishonour 
their superiors and parents, in complying with their 
unrighteous commands. Also, Christ uses this word 
so, when he says, " I have not a devil, but I honour 
my Father, and ye dishonour me :"^ that is, I do my 
Father's will, in what I do ; but you will not hear me; 
you reject my counsel, and will not obey my voice. 
It was not refusing hat and knee, nor empty titles : no, 
it was disobedience ; resisting him that God had sent, 
and not believing him. This was the dishonour he 
taxed them with ; using him as an impostor, that God 
had ordained for the salvation of the world. And of 
these dishonours, there are but too many at this day. 
Christ has a saying to the same effect ; " That all men 
should honour the Son, even as they honour the 
Father; and he that honoureth not the Son, honoureth 
not the Father, which hath sent him :"® that is, they 
that hearken not to Christ, and do not worship and 
obey him, they do not hear, worship, nor obey God. 
As they pretended to believe in God, so they were to 
have believed in him ; he told them so. This is preg- 
nantly manifested in the case of the centurion, whose 
faith was so much commended by Christ, where, giving 



1 1 Sam. ii. 30. 


2 1 Pet. ii. ir. 


' Exod. XX. 12 


* Eph. vi. 1, 2. 


8 John viii. 49. 


« John V. 23. 


8 







114 

Jesus an account of his honourable station, he tells 
him, " He had soldiers under his authority, and when 
he said to one, Go, he went ; to another, Come, he 
came ; and to a third, Do this, he did it."^ In this it 
was he placed the honour of his capacity, and the re- 
spect of his soldiers, and not in hats and legs ; nor 
are such customs yet in use amongst soldiers, being 
effeminate, and unworthy of masculine gravity. 

Sect. 13. In the next place, honour is used for 
preferment to trust and eminent employments. So 
the Psalmist, speaking to Grod ; " For thou hast 
crowned him with glory and honour :"^ again, "Honour 
and majesty hast thou laid on him :"^ that is, Grod had 
given Christ power over all his enemies, and exalted 
him to great dominion. Thus the wise man intimates, 
when he says, " The fear of the Lord is the instruc- 
tion of wisdom, and before honour is humility.""* 
That is, before advancement or preferment, is hu- 
mility. Farther, he has this saying, " As snow in 
summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not 
seemly for a fool :"^ that is, a fool is not capable of the 
dignity of trust, employment, or preferment; they 
require virtue, wisdom, integrity, diligence, of which 
fools are unfurnished. And yet, if the respects and 
titles, in use amongst us, are to go for marks of hon- 
our, Solomon's proverb will take place, and doubtless 
doth, upon the practice of this age, that yields so 
much of that honour to a great many of Solomon's 
fools ; who are not only silly men, but wicked too ; 
such as refuse instruction, and hate the fear of the 
Lord f which only maketh one of his wise men. 

1 Luke vii. 8. * Psal, viii. 5. » Psal. xxi. 5. 

* Prov. XV. 33. * Prov. xxvi. 1. e Prov. xiii. 18. 



115 

Sect. 14. And as virtue and wisdom are the same, 
so folly and wickedness. Thus Sechem's ravishment 
of Dinah, Jacob's daughter,^ is called : so is the rebel- 
lion and wickedness of the Israelites in Joshua.^ The 
Psalmist expresses it thus : '' My wounds stink because 
of my foolishness ;"^ that is, his sin. And " The Lord 
will speak peace to his saints, that they turn not again 
to folly;"'' that is, to evil. His own iniquities, (says 
Solomon) shall take the wicked himself, and he shall 
be holden with the cords of his sins : he shall die 
without instruction, and in the greatness of his folly 
he shall go astray."'^ Christ puts foolishness with 
blasphemy, pride, thefts, murders, adulteries, Avicked- 
ness,^ &c. I was the more willing to add these pas- 
sages to shew the difference that there is between the 
mind of the Holy Ghost, and the notion that those 
ages had of fools, that deserve not honour, and that 
which is generally meant by fools and folly in our 
time ; that we may the better understand the dispro- 
portion there is between honour, as then understood 
by the Holy Ghost, and those that were led thereby ; 
and the apprehension of it, and practice of these latter 
ages of professed Christians. 

Sect. 15. But honour is also taken for reputation, 
and so it is understood with us : "A gracious woman 
(says Solomon) retaineth honour ;"^ that is, she keeps 
her credit ; and, by her virtue, maintains her reputa- 
tion of sobriety and chastity. In another place, " It 
is an honour for a man to cease from strife :"^ that is. 
It makes for his reputation, as a wise and good man. 

^ Gen. xxxiv. 7. ^ Josh, vii. 14, 15. ^ Psal. xxxviii. 5. 

* Psal. Ixxxv. 8. » Prov. v. 22, 23. « Mark vii. 21. 

« Prov. xi. 16. 8 Prov. xx. 3. 



116 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

Christ uses the word thus, where he says, " A prophet 
is not without honour, save in his own country ;"^ that 
is, he has credit, and is valued, save at home. The 
apostle to the Thessalonians has a saying to that 
effect : " That every one of you should know how to 
possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;"^ that 
is, in chastity and sohriety. Jn all which, nothing of 
the fashions by us declined is otherwise concerned, 
than to be totally excluded. 

Sect. 16. There is yet another use of the word 
[honour] in scripture, and that is to functions and ca- 
pacities : as, " an elder is worthy of double honour :"^ 
that is, he deserves double esteem, love, and respect; 
being holy, merciful, temperate, peaceable, humble, 
&c. especially one that " labours in word and doc- 
trine.""* So Paul recommends Epaphroditus to the 
Philippians : *' Receive him therefore in the Lord with 
all gladness, and hold such in reputation." As if he 
had said, let them be valued and regarded by you in 
what they say and teach. Which is the truest, and 
most natural and convincing way of testifying respect 
to a man of God, as Christ said to his disciples, "If 
you love me, you will keep my sayings." Farther, the 
apostle bids us " to honour widows indeed ;" that is, 
such women as are of chaste lives, and exemplary 
virtue, are honourable. Marriage is honourable too, 
with this proviso, that the bed be undefiled :^ so that 
the honour of marriage, is the chastity of the married. 

Sect. 17. The word honour in the scripture, is also 
used of superiors to inferiors ; which is plain in that 
of Ahasuerus to Haman : '' What shall be done to the 

1 Matt. xiii. 51. ^ 1 Thess. iv. 4. ^ i Tim, y. 17. 

* Philip, ii. 29. * Heb. xiii. 4. 



NO CROWN. 117 

man whom the king delighteth to honour?"^ Why, 
he mightily advanced him, as Mordecai afterwards. 
And more particularly it is said, " That the Jews had 
light, and gladness, and joy, and honour:"* that is, 
they escaped the persecution that was like to fall upon 
them, and, by the means of Esther and Mordecai, 
they enjoyed not only peace, but favour and counte- 
nance too. In this sense, the apostle Peter advised 
men, " to honour their wives ;" that is to love, value, 
cherish, countenance and esteem them for their fidelity 
and affection to their husbands ; for their tenderness 
and care over their children, and for their diligence 
and circumspection in their families :^ there is no cere- 
monious behaviour, or gaudy titles, requisite to express 
this honour. Thus God honours holy men : " They 
(says the Lord) that honour me, I will honour ; and 
they that despise me, shall be lightly esteemed r""* that 
is, I will do good to them, I will love, bless, counte- 
nance, and prosper them that honour me, that obey 
me : but they that despise me, that resist my spirit, 
and break my law, they shall be lightly esteemed, 
little set by, or accounted of; they shall not find 
favour with God, nor righteous men. And so we see 
it daily among men : if the great visit, or concern 
themselves to aid the poor, we say, that such a great 
man did me the honour to come and see or help me in 
my need. 

Sect. 18. I shall conclude this with one passage 
more, and that is a very large, plain, and pertinent 
one: " Honour all men, and love the brotherhood :"^ 
that is, love is above honour, and that is reserved for 

1 Esth. vi. 6. ^ Esth. viii. 16. ' 1 Pet. iii. 

* 1 Sara. ii. 30. » 1 Pet. ii. 17. 



118 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

the brotherhood. But honour, which is esteem and 
regard, that thou owest to all men ; and if all, then 
thy inferiors. But why, for all men ? Because they 
are the creation of- God, and the noblest part of his 
creation too; they are also thy own kind; be natural, 
have bowels, and assist them with what thou canst; be 
ready to perform any real respect, and yield them any 
good or countenance thou canst. 

Sect. 19. And yet there seems a limitation to this 
command, honour all men, in that godly passage of 
David, " Who shall abide in thy tabernacle ? who 
shall dwell in thy holy hill ? lie in whose eyes a vile 
person is contemned; but he honoureth them that 
fear the Lord."^ Here honour is confined and affixed 
to godly persons, and dishonour made the duty of the 
righteous to the wicked, and a mark of their being 
righteous, that they dishonour, that is, slight or dis- 
regard them. To conclude this scripture-inquiry after 
honour, I shall contract the subject of it under three 
capacities ; superiors, equals, and inferiors : honour 
to superiors, is obedience ; to equals, love ; to infe- 
riors, countenance and help : that is honour after 
God's mind, and the holy people's fashion of old. 

Sect. 20. But how little of all this is to be seen or 
had in a poor empty hat, bow, cringe, or gaudy flut- 
tering title ? Let the truth-speaking witness of ^ God 
in all mankind judge. For I must not appeal to cor- 
rupt, proud, and self-seeking man, of the good or evil 
of these customs ; that, as little as he would render 
them, are loved and sought by him, and he is out of 
humour, and angry, if he has them not. 

This is our second reason, why we refuse to prac- 

1 Psal. XV. 4. 



119 

tise the accustomed ceremonies of honour and respect, 
because we find no such notion or expression, of 
honour and respect, recommended to us by the Holy 
Ghost in the scriptures of truth. 

Sect. 21. Our third reason, for not using them as 
testimonies of honour and respect is, because there is 
no discovery of honour or respect to be made by them: 
it is rather eluding and equivocating it ; cheating 
people of the honour or respect that is due to them ; 
giving them nothing in the shew of something. There 
is in them no obedience to superiors; no love to equals; 
no help or countenance to inferiors. 

Sect. 22. We are, we declare to the whole world, 
for true honour and respect: we honour the king, our 
parents, our masters, our magistrates, our landlords, 
one another, yea all men, after God's way, used by 
holy men and women of old time: but we refuse these 
customs, as vain and deceitful; not answering the end 
they are used for. 

Sect. 23. But fourthly, there is yet more to be 
said : we find that vain, loose, and worldly people, 
are the great lovers and practisers of them, and most 
deride our simplicity of behaviour. Now we as- 
suredly know, from the sacred testimonies, that those 
people cannot give true honour, that live in a dishon- 
ourable spirit ; they understand it not : but they can 
give the hat and knee ; and that they are very liberal 
of; nor are any more expert at it. This is to us, a 
proof, that no true honour can be testified by those 
customs, which vanity and looseness love and use. 

Sect. 24. Next to them, I will add hypocrisy and 
revenge too. For how little do many care for each 
other ? Nay, what spite, envy, animosity, secret back- 



120 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

biting, and plotting one against another, under the 
use of these idle respects ; till passion, too strong for 
cunning, break through hypocrisy into open affront 
and revenge. It cannot be so with the scripture- 
honour : to obey, or prefer a man, out of spite, is not 
usually done ; and to love, help, serve, and counte- 
nance a person, in order to deceive and be revenged of 
him, is a thing never heard of: these admit of no 
hypocrisy, nor revenge. Men do not these things to 
palliate ill-will, which are the testimonies of quite the 
contrary. It is absurd to imagine it, because impos- 
sible to be done. 

Sect. 25. Our sixth reason is, that honour was 
from the beginning, but hat-respects and most titles 
are of late : therefore there was true honour before 
hats or titles ; and consequently true honour stands 
not in them. And that which ever was the way to 
express true honour, is the best way still ; and this 
the scripture teaches better than dancing-masters can 
do. 

Sect. 26. Seventhly, if honour consists in such 
like ceremonies, then will it follow, that they are most 
capable of shewing honour, who perform it most ex- 
actly, according to the mode or fashion of the times ; 
consequently, that man hath not the measure of true 
honour, from a just and reasonable principle in him- 
self, but by the means and skill of the fantastic danc- 
ing-masters of the times : and for this cause it is we 
see, that many give much money to have their chil- 
dren learn their honours, falsely so called. And what 
doeth this but totally exclude the poor country people; 
who, though they plough, sow, till, reap, go to mar- 
ket ; and in all things obey their justices, landlords. 



121 

fathers, and masters, with sincerity and sobriety, 
rarely use those ceremonies ; but if they do, it is so 
awkwardly and meanly, that they are esteemed by a 
court-critic so ill-favoured, as only fit to make a jest 
of, and be laughed at : but what sober man will not 
deem their obedience beyond the other's vanity and 
hypocrisy ? This base notion of honour turns out of 
doors the true, and sets the false in its place. Let it 
be farther considered, that the way or fashion of doing 
it is much more in the design of its performers as well 
as view of its spectators, than the respect itself. 
Whence it is commonly said, he is a man of good 
mien ; or, she is a woman of exact behaviour. And 
what is this behaviour, but fantastic, cramp postures, 
and cringings, unnatural to their shape, and if it 
were not fashionable, ridiculous to the view of all 
people ; and therefore to the Eastern countries a 
proverb ? 

Sect. 27. But yet eighthly, real honour consists 
not in a hat, bow, or title, because all these things 
may be had for money. For which reason, how many 
dancing-schools, plays, &c. are there in the land, to 
which youth are generally sent to be educated in these 
vain fashions ? whilst they are ignorant of the honour 
that is of God, and their minds are allured to visible 
things that perish ; and instead of remembering their 
Creator, are taken up with toys and fopperies ; and 
sometimes so much worse, as to cost themselves a dis- 
inheriting, and their indiscreet parents grief and 
misery all their days. If parents would honour God 
in the help of his poor, witlv the substance they be- 
stow on such an education, they would find a better 
account in the end.^ 

1 Prov. iii. 9. 



122 

Sect. 28. But lastly, We cannot esteem bows, 
titles, and pulling off of hats, to be real honour, be- 
cause such like customs, have been prohibited by God, 
his Son and servants in days past. This I shall en- 
deavour to shew by three or four express authorities. 

Sect. 29. My first example and authority is taken 
from the story of Mordecai and Haman ; so close to 
this point, that methinks it should at least command 
silence to the objections frequently advanced against 
us. Haman was first minister of state, and favourite 
to king Ahasuerus. The text says, " That the king 
set his seat above all the princes that were with him ; 
and all the king's servants bowed, and reverenced 
Haman ; for the king had so commanded concerning 
him : but Mordecai (it seems) bowed not, nor did him 
reverence."^ This, at first, made ill for Mordecai : a 
gallows was prepared for him at Haman's command. 
But the sequel of the story shews, that Haman proved 
his own invention, and ended his pride with his life 
upon it. Well now, speaking as the world speaks, and 
looking upon Mordecai without the knowledge of the 
success ; was not Mordecai a very clown, at least a 
silly, morose, and humorous man, to run such a hazard 
for a trifle ! What hurt had it done him to have 
bowed to, and honoured one the king honoured ? did 
he not despise the king, in disregarding Haman ? nay, 
had not the king commanded that respect ? and are 
not we to honour and obey the king? One would have 
thought, he might have bowed for the king's sake 
whatever he had in his heart, and yet have come off 
well enough ; for that he bowed, not merely to Haman, 
but to the king's authority ; besides, it was but an in- 

1 Esth. iii. 1, 2. 



NO CEOSS, NO CROWN. 123 

nocent ceremony. But it seems Mordecai was too 
plain and stout, and not fine and subtil enough to 
avoid the displeasure of Haman. 

Howbeit, he was an excellent man : " he feared 
God, and wrought righteousness." And in this very 
thing also, he pleased God, and even the king too at 
- last, that had most cause to be angry with him : for 
he advanced him to Haman's dignity, and if it could 
be, to greater honour. It is true, sad news first came; 
no less than destruction to Mordecai, and the whole 
people of the Jews besides, for his sake : but Morde- 
cai's integrity and humiliation, his fasting and strong 
cries to God prevailed, and the people were saved, and 
poor condemned Mordecai comes, after all, to be ex- 
alted above the princes. this has great doctrine in 
it, to all those that are in their spiritual exercises and 
temptations, whether in this or any other respect ! 
They that endure faithful in that which they are con- 
vinced God requires of them, though against the grain 
and humour of the world, and themselves too, they 
shall find a blessed recompense in the end. My 
brethren, remember the cup of cold water ! " We 
shall reap, if we faint not :" and call to mind, that our 
captain bowed not to him that told him, " If thou wilt 
fall down and worship me, I will give thee all the 
glory of the world :" shall we bow then ? no I let 
us follow our blessed leader. 

Sect. 30. But before I leave this section, it is fit 
I add that in conference with a late bishop, and none 
of the least eminent, upon this subject and instance, 
I remember he sought to evade it thus : Mordecai, 
says he, did not refuse to bow, as it was a testimony 

1 Matt. iy. 8, 9. 



124 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

of respect to the king's favourite ; but he being a 
figure and type of Christ, he refused it, because 
Haman was of the uncircumcision, and ought to bow 
to him rather. To which I replied; that allowing 
Mordecai to be a figure of Christ, and the Jews of 
God's people or church ; and that as the Jews were 
saved by Mordecai, so the church is saved by Christ ; 
this makes for me ; for then by that reason, the spir- 
itual circumcision, or people of Christ, are not to re- 
ceive and bow to the fashions and customs of the 
spiritual uncircumcision, who are the children of the 
world ; of which, such as were condemnable so long 
ago, in the time of the type and figure, can by no 
means be justifiably received or practised in the time 
of the anti-type or substance itself. On the contrary, 
this shews expressly, we are faithfully to decline such 
worldly customs, and not to fashion ourselves jaccord- 
ing to the conversation of earthly-minded people : but 
be renewed and changed in our ways ; and keep close 
to our Mordecai, who having not bowed, we must not 
bow, that are his people and followers. And what- 
ever be our sufiering, or reproaches, they will have an 
end : Mordecai our captain, that appears for his 
people, throughout all the provdnces, in the king's 
gate, will deliver us at last ; and, for his sake, we shall 
be favoured and loved of the king himself too. So 
powerful is faithful Mordecai at last. Therefore let 
us all look to Jesus, our Mordecai, the Israel indeed ; 
he that has power with God, and would not bow in the 
hour of temptation, but has mightily prevailed : and 
therefore is a prince, for ever, and of his government 
there shall never be an end. 

Sect. 31. The next scripture instance I urge against 



125 

these custoiDS, is a passage in Job, thus expressed : 
" Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person; 
neither let me give flattering titles unto man, for I 
know not to give flattering titles: in so doing my 
Maker would soon take me away."^ The question 
that will arise upon the allegation of this scripture, is 
this, viz. "What titles are flattering? The answer is 
as obvious, namely, Such as are empty and fictitious, 
and make him more than he is. As to call a man 
what he is not, to please him; or to exalt him beyond 
his true name, office, or desert, to gain upon his af 
fection : who, it may be, lusteth to honour and respect ; 
such as these. Most excellent, most sacred, your grace, 
your lordship, most dread majesty, right honourable, 
right worshipful, may it please your majesty, your 
grace, your lordship, your honour, your worship, and 
the like unnecessary titles and attributes ; calculated 
only to please and tickle poor, proud, vain, yet mortal 
man. Likewise to call man what he is not, as my 
lord, my master, &c. and wise, just, or good, when he 
is neither, only to please him, or shew him respect. 

It was familiar thus to do among the Jews, under 
their degeneracy ; wherefore one came to Christ, and 
said ; " Good master, what shall I do to have eternal 
life?"^ It was a salution or address of respect in those 
times. It is familiar now; good my lord, good sir, 
good master, do this, or do that. But what was 
Christ's answer! how did he take it? "Why callest 
thou me good?" says Christ, "there is none good save 
one, that is God." He rejected it, that had more 
right to keep it than all mankind: and why? because 
there was no one greater than he: and that he saw the 

1 Job xxxii. 21, 22. i Luke xvii. 13, 19. 



126 NO CROSS, NO CROWN, 

man addressed it to his manhood, after the way of the 
times, and not his divinity which dwelt within it; 
therefore Christ refuses it, shewing and instructing us 
that we should not give such epithets and titles com- 
monly to men ; for good being due alone to God and 
godliness, it can only he said in flattery to fallen man, 
and therefore sinful to be so said. 

This plain and exact life well became him that was 
on purpose manifested to return and restore man from 
his lamentable degeneracy, to the innocency and 
purity of his first creation, who has taught us to be 
careful, how we use and give attributes unto man, by 
that most severe saying, "That every idle word that 
men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof 
in the day of judgment."^ And that which should 
warn all men of the latitude they take therein, and 
sufficiently justify our tenderness, is this, that man 
can scarcely commit greater injury and offence against 
Almighty God, than to ascribe any of his attributes 
unto man, the creature of his word, and the work of 
his hands. He is a jealous God of his honour, and will 
not give his glory unto another. Besides, it is so 
near the sin of the aspiring, fallen angels, that affected 
to be greater and better than they were made and 
stated by the great Lord of all: and to entitle man to 
a station above his make and orb looks so like idolatry, 
(the unpardonable sin under the law) that it is hard 
to think, how men and women professing Christianity, 
and seriously reflecting upon their vanity and evil in 
these things, can continue in them, much less plead 
or them, and least of all reproach and deride those 
that through tenderness of conscience cannot use and 

' Malt. xii. 36. 



I 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 127 

give them. It seems that Elihu did not dare to do it; 
but put such weight upon the matter, as to give this 
for one reason of his forbearance, to wit, "Lest my 
Maker should soon take me away:" that is, for fear 
God should strike me dead, I dare not give man titles, 
that are above him, or titles merely to please him. I 
may not, by any means, gratify that spirit which 
lusteth after such things. God is to be exalted, and 
man abased. God is jealous of man's being set higher 
than his station: he will have him keep his place, 
know his original, and remember the rock from whence 
he came : and what he has is borrowed, not his own, 
but his Maker's, who brought him forth and sustained 
him ; which man is very apt to forget. And lest I 
should be accessary to it by flattering titles, instead of 
telling him truly and plainly what he is, and using 
him as he ought to be treated, and thereby provoke 
my Maker to displeasure, and he in his anger and 
jealousy should take me soon away, or bring sudden 
death, and an untimely end upon me, I dare not use, 
I dare not give such titles unto men. 

Sect. 32. But if we had not this to allege from 
the old-testament-writings, it should and ought to 
suffice with Christians, that these customs are severely 
censured by the great Lord and Master of all their 
religion; who is so far from putting people upon 
giving honour one to another, that he will not indulge 
them in it, whatever be the customs of the country 
they live in : for he charges it upon the Jews, as a 
mark of their apostacy : " How can ye believe, which 
receive honour one of another, and seek not the 
honour that cometh from God only?" where their 
infidelity concerning Christ is made the effect of seek- 



128 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

ing worldly, and not heavenly honour only. And the 
thing is not hard to apprehend, if we consider, that 
self-love, and desire of honour from men, is incon- 
sistent with the love and humility of Christ. They 
sought the good opinion and respect of the world ; 
how then was it possible they should leave all and 
follow him, whose kingdom is not of this world ; and 
that came in a way so cross to the mind and humour 
of it ? and that this was the meaning of our Lord 
Jesus, is plain : for he tells us what that honour was, 
they gave and received, which he condemns them for, 
and of which he bid the disciples of his humility and 
cross beware. His words are these (and he speaks 
them not of the rabble, but of the doctors, the great 
men, the men of honour among the Jews) " They love 
(says he) the uppermost rooms at feasts;"^ that is, 
places of greatest rank and respect; " and greetings," 
that is, salutations of respect, such as pulling off the 
hat, and bowing the body, are in our age; "in the 
market-places,"^ viz. in the places of note and con- 
course, the public walks and exchanges of the coun- 
try. And lastly, " They love (says Christ) to be 
called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi:" one of the most emi- 
nent titles among the Jews. A word comprehending 
an excellency equal to many titles : it may stand for 
your grace, your lordship, right reverend father, &c. 
It is upon these men of breeding and quality, that he 
pronounces his woes, making these practices some of 
the evil marks, by which to know them, as well as 
some of the motives of his threatenings against them. 
But he leaves it not here, he pursues this very point 
of honour, above all the rest, in his caution to his dis- 

1 Matt, xxiii. 6. 2 Mark xii. 38. Luke xi. 43. 



129 

ciples ; to whom he gave in charge thus: "But be 
not ye called Rabbi, for one is your master, even 
Christ, and all ye are brethren. Neither be ye called 
masters : but he that is greatest among you shall be 
your servant, and whosoever shall exalt himself shall 
be abased." Plain it is, that these passages carry a 
severe rebuke, both to worldly honour in general, and 
to those members and expressions of it in particular, 
which, as near as the language of scripture and cus- 
toms of that age will permit, do distinctly reach and 
allude to those of our own time ; for the declining of 
which we have suffered so much scorn and abuse, both 
in our persons and estates; God forgive the unreason- 
able authors of it I 

Sect. 33. The apostle Paul has a saying of great 
weight and fervency, in his epistle to the Romans, 
very agreeable to this doctrine of Christ ; it is this : 
" I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies 
of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, 
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable 
service ; and be not conformed to this world, but be 
ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that 
ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and 
perfect will of God."^ He wrote to a people in the 
midst of the ensnaring pomp and glory of the world ; 
Rome was the seat of Csesar, and the empire : the 
mistress of invention. Her fashions, as those of 
France now, were as laws to the world, at least at 
Rome : whence it is proverbial ; 

Cum fueris Romce, Romano vivito more. 

When thou art at Rome, thou must do as Rome does. 

But the apostle is of another mind: he warns the 

1 Rom. xii. 1, 2. 

9 



130 

Christians of that city, ^'that they be not conformed;" 
that is, that they do not follow the vain fashions and 
customs of this world, but leave them : the emphasis 
lies upon This, as well as upon Conformed : and it 
imports, that this world, which they were not to con- 
form to, was the corrupt and degenerate condition of 
mankind in that age. Wherefore the apostle proceeds 
to exhort those believers, and that, by the mercies of 
God, the most powerful and winning of all arguments, 
" that they would be transformed ;" that is, changed 
from the way of life customary among the Romans ; 
*' and prove what is that acceptable will of God." 
As if he had said, examine what you do and practise; 
see if it be right, and that it please God : call every 
thought, word, and action to judgment ; try whether 
they are wrought in God or not ; that so you may 
prove or know what is that good, and acceptable, and 
perfect will of God.^ 

Sect. 34. The next scripture-authority we appeal 
to, in our vindication, is a passage of the apostle 
Peter, in his first epistle, written to the believing 
strangers throughout the countries of Pontus, Galatia, 
Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia ; which were the 
churches of Christ Jesus in those parts of the world, 
gathered up by his power and spirit; it is this, ^'Gird 
up the loins of your mind ; be sober, and hope to th^ 
end, for the grace that is to be brought unto you a; 
the revelation of Jesus Christ ; as obedient children, 
not fashioning yourselves according to the former 
lusts of your ignorance."^ That is, be not found in 
the vain fashions and customs of the world, unto which 
you conformed in your former ignorance : but as ye 

» John iii. 21, 22. 2 1 Pet. i. 13, 11. 



131 

have believed in a more plain and excellent way, so 
be sober and fervent, and hope to the end : do not 
give out ; let them mock on : bear ye the contradic- 
tion of sinners constantly, as obedient children, that 
you may receive the kindness of God, at the revela- 
tion of Jesus Christ. And therefore does the apostle 
call them " strangers (a figurative speech) people es- 
tranged from the customs of the world, of new faith 
and manners; and so unknown of the world:" and if 
such strangers, then not to be fashioned or conformed 
to their pleasing respects and honours, whom they 
were estranged from ; because the strangeness lay in 
leaving that which was customary and familiar to them 
before. The following words, ver. 17, proved he used 
the word strangers in a spiritual sense ; *' Pass the 
time of your sojourning here in fear ;" that is, pass 
the time of your being here as strangers on earth in 
fear; not after the fashions of the world. A. word in 
the next chapter further explains this sense, where he 
tells the believers, that they are " a peculiar people;" 
to wit, a distinct, a singular and separate people from 
the rest of the world: not any longer to fashion them- 
selves according to their customs : but I do not know 
how that could be, if they were to live in communion 
with the world, in its respects and honours ; for that 
is not to be a peculiar or separate people from them, 
but to be like them, because conformable to them. 

Sect. 35. I shall conclude my scripture-testimonies 
against the foregoing respects, with that memorable 
and close passage of the apostle James, against re- 
spect to persons in general, after the world's fashion: 
*'My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons ; 



132 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

for if there come unto your assembly, a man with a 
gold ring, in goodly apparel ; and there come in alsc 
a poor man, in vile raiment, and ye have respect to 
him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, 
sit thou here in a goodly place, or well and seemly, as 
the word is, and say to the poor, stand thou there, or 
sit here under my footstool ; are ye not then partial 
in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts' 
[that is, they knew they did amiss] ? If ye fulfil the 
royal law, according to the scripture. Thou shalt love 
thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well ; but if ye have 
respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced 
of the law as transgressors."^ This is so full, there 
seems nothing left for me to add, or others to object. 
We are not to respect persons, that is the first thing : 
and the next is, if we do, we commit sin, and break 
the law : at our own peril be it. And. yet, perhaps, 
some will say, that by this we overthrow all manner 
of distinction among men, under their divers qualities, 
and introduce a reciprocal and relational respect in 
the room of it : but if it be so, I cannot help it, the 
apostle James must answer for it, who has given us 
this doctrine for Christian and Apostolical. And yet 
one greater than he told his disciples, of whom James 
was one, viz. " Ye know that the princes of the Gen- 
tiles exercise dominion over them, &c. But it shall 
not be so among you; but whosoever will be great 
among you, let him be your minister ; and whosoever 
will be chief among you, let him bq your servant :"^ 
that is, he that afi'ects rule, and seeks to be uppermost, 
shall be esteemed least among you. And to say 
true, upon the whole matter, whether we regard those 

1 James ii. 1, 2, 3, 4. 2 James ii. 8. ^ Matt. xx. 25, 26, 27. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 133 

early times of the world, tliat were antecedent to 
the coming of Christ, or soon after, there was yet a 
greater simplicity, than in the times in which we 
are fallen. For those early times of the world, as 
bad as they were in other things, were great strangers 
to the frequency of these follies ; nay, they hardly 
used some of them, at least very rarely. For if we 
read the scriptures, such a thing as my lord Adam, 
though lord of the world, is not to be found ; nor my 
lord Noah neither, the second lord of the earth; nor 
yet .my lord Abraham, the father of the faithful; nor 
my lord Isaac ; nor my lord Jacob ; but much less 
my lord Peter, and my lord Paul, to be found in the 
bible : and less your holiness, or your grace. Nay, 
among the Gentiles, the people wore their own names 
with more simplicity, and used not the ceremonious- 
ness of speech that is now practised among Christians, 
nor yet any thing like it. My lord Solon, my lord 
Phocion, my lord Plato, my lord Aristotle, my lord 
Scipio, my lord Fabius, my lord Cato, my lord Cicero, 
are not to be read in any of the Greek or Latin 
stories, and yet they were some of the sages and 
heroes of those great empires. No, their own names 
were enough to distinguish them from other men, and 
their virtue and employment in the public were their 
titles of honour. Nor- has this vanity yet crept far 
into the Latin writers, where it is familiar for authors 
to cite the most learned, and the most noble, without 
any addition to their names, unless worthy or learned: 
and if their works give it them, we make conscience 
to deny it them. For instance : the fathers they 
only cite thus ; Polycarpus, Ignatius, Irenseus, Cy- 
prian, Tertullian, Origen, Arnobius, Lactantius, Chry- 



134 

sostom, Jerom, &c. More modern writers ; Dcamas- 
cen, Rabanus, Paschasius, Theophylact, Bernard, &c. 
And of the last age ; Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, 
Beza, Zuinglius, Marlorat, Yossiiis, Grotius, Dalleus, 
Amaraldus, &c. And of our own country ; Gildas, 
Beda, Alcuinus, Horn, Bracton, Grosteed, Littleton, 
Cranmerj Ridley, Jewel, "VYhitaker, Selden, &c. And 
yet, I presume, this will not be thought uncivil or 
rude. Why then is our simplicity, (and so honestly 
grounded too, as conscience against pride in man, that 
so eagerly and perniciously loves and seeks worship 
and greatness) so much despised and abused, and that 
by professed Christians too, who take themselves to 
be the followers of him, that has forbid these foolish 
customs, as plainly as any other impiety condemned 
in his doctrine ? I earnestly beg the lovers, users, 
and expecters of these ceremonies, to let this I have 
written have some consideration and weight with them. 
Sect. 36. However, Christians are not so ill bred 
as the world thinks : for they shew respect too : but 
the -difference between them lies in the nature of the 
respect they perform, and the reasons o"f it. The 
world's respect is an empty ceremony, no soul or sub- 
stance in it ; the Christian's is a solid thing, whether 
by obedience to superiors, love to equals, or help and 
countenance to inferiors. Next, their reasons and 
motives to honour and respect, are as wide one from 
the other : for fine apparel, empty titles, or large 
revenues, are the world's motives, being things her 
children worship : but the Christian's motive is the 
sense of his duty in God's sight ; first, to parents and 
magistrates; and then to inferior relations; and lastly, 
to all people, according to their virtue, wisdom, and 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 135 

piety ; which is far from respect to the mere persons 
of men, or having their persons in admiration for re- 
ward ; much less on such mean and base motives as 
wealth and sumptuous raiment. 

Sect. 37. We shall easily grant, our honour, as our 
religion, is more hidden ; and that neither is so dis- 
cernible by worldly men, nor grateful to them. Our 
plainness is odd, uncouth, and goes mightily against 
the grain ; but so does Christianity too, and that for 
the same reasons. But had not the heathen spirit 
prevailed too long under a Christian profession, it 
would not be so hard to discern the right from the 
wrong. that Christians would look upon them- 
selves, with the glass of righteousness, that which tells 
true, and gives them an exact knowledge of them- 
selves ! and then let them examine, what in them, 
and about them, agrees with Christ's doctrine and 
life ; and they may soon resolve, whether they are 
real Christians, or but Heathens christened with the 
name of Christians. 

SOME TESTIMONIES FROM ANCIENT AND MODERN 
WRITERS IN FAVOUR OF OUR BEHAVIOUR. 

Sect. 38. Marlorat out of Luther and Calvin, upon 
that remarkable passage I just now urged from the 
apostle James, gives us the sense those primitive re- 
formers had of respect to persons, in these words, viz. 
" To respect persons (here) is to have regard to the 
habit and garb: the apostle signifies that such respect- 
ing persons are so contrary to true faith, that they 
are altogether inconsistent ; but if the pomp, and 
other worldly regards, prevail, and weaken what is of 
Christ, it is a sign of a decaying faith ; yea, so great 



136 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

is the glory and splendour of Christ in a pious soul, 
that all the glories of the world have no charms, no 
beauty, in comparison of that, unto one so righteously 
inclined : the apostle maketh such respecting of per- 
sons, to be repugnant to the light, within them, inso- 
much, as they, who follow those practices, are con- 
demned from within themselves. So that sanctity 
ought to be the reason, or motive, of all outward re- 
spects ; and that none is to be honoured, upon any 
account but holiness :" thus much Marlorat. But if 
this be true doctrine, we are much in the right in re- 
fusing conformity to the vain respects of worldly men. 
Sect. 39. But I shall add to these the admonition 
of ^ learned ancient writer, who lived about 1200 
years since, of great esteem, namely, Jerom, who 
writing to a noble matron, Celantia, directing her how 
to live in the midst of her prosperity. and honours, 
amongst many other religious instructiqns, speaks 
thus : " Heed not thy nobility, nor let that be a rea- 
son for thee to take place of any ; esteem not those 
of a meaner extraction to be thy inferiors ; for our 
religion admits of no respect of persons, nor doth it 
induce us to repute men from any external condition, 
but from their inward frame and disposition of mind : 
it is hereby that we pronounce men noble or base. 
With God, not to serve sin, is to be free; and to excel 
in virtue is to be noble : God has chosen the mean 
and contemptible of this world, whereby to humble 
the great ones. Besides, it is a folly for any to boast 
his gentility, since all are equally esteemed by God. 
The ransom of the poor and rich cost Christ an equal 
expense of blood. Nor is it material in what state a 
man is born ; the new creature hath no distinction. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. , 13T 

But if we will forget, how we all descended from one 
Father, we ought at least perpetually to remember, 
that we have but one Saviour." 

.Sect. 40. But since I am engaged against these 
fond and fruitless customs, (the proper effects and 
delights of vain and proud minds) let me yet add one 
memorable passage more, as it is related by the fam- 
ous Causabon, in his Discourse of Use and Custom; 
where he briefly reports what passed between Sulpitius 
Severus, and Paulinus, bishop of Nola, (but such an 
one as gave all to redeem captives, whilst 'others of 
that function, that they may show who is their master, 
are making many both beggars and captives, by coun- 
tenancing the plunder and imprisonment of Christians, 
for pure conscience to God) he brings it in thus: "He 
is not counted a civil man now, of late years amongst 
us, who thinks it much, or refuseth, to subscribe him- 
self servant, though it be to his equal or inferior. 
Yet Sulpitius Severus was once sharply chid by 
Paulinus, for subscribing himself his servant, in a let- 
ter of his; saying, Take heed hereafter, how Thou, 
being from a servant called into liberty, dost subscribe 
thyself servant unto one who is thy brother and fel- 
low-servant; for it is a sinful flattery, not a testimony 
of humility, to pay those honours to a man, and a 
sinner, which are due to the one Lord, and one master, 
and one God." This bishop was, (as it seems) of 
Christ's mind, "Why callest thou me good? there is 
none good but one." By this we may see the sense of 
some of the more apostolical bishops about the civili- 
ties and fashions, so much reputed with people that 
call themselves Christians and Bishops, and who would 
be thought their successors. It was then a -sin, it is 



138 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

now an accomplishment; it was then a flattery, it is 
now respect; it was then fit to be severely reproved; 
and now, alas ! it is to deserve severe reproof not to 
use it. monstrous vanity ! how much, how deeply, 
have those who are called Christians revolted from 
the plainness of the primitive days, and practice of 
holy men and women in former ages ! How are they 
become degenerated into the loose, proud, and wanton 
customs of the world, which knows not God ; to whom 
use hath made these things, condemned by scripture, 
reason and example, almost natural ! And so insensi- 
ble are they of both their cause and bad effects, that 
they not only continue to practise them, but plead for 
them, and unchristianly make a very mock of those 
who cannot imitate them. But I shall proceed to 
what remains yet farther to be said in our defence for 
declining another custom, which helps to make us so 
much the stumbling-block of this light, vain, and in- 
considerate age. 



CHAPTER X. 

Sect. 1. Another piece of non-conformity to tlie world, which is our 
simple and plain speech, Thou for You. 2. Justified from the use of 
words and nnmbere, singular and plural. 3. It was, and is, the He- 
brew, Greek, and Latin speech, in schools and universities. 4. It is 
the language of all nations. 5. The original of the present custom 
defends our disuse of it. 6. If custom should prevail, in a sense it 
would be on our side. 7. It cannot be uncivil, or improper: for God 
himself, the fathers, prophets, Christ and his apostles used it. 8. An 
instance given in the case of Peter, in the palace of the high priest. 
9. Ic is the pi-actice of men to God in their prayers : the pride of man 
to expect better to himself. 10. Testimonies of several writers in vin- 
dication of us. 11. The author's convictions, and his exhortation to 
his reader. 

Sect. 1. There is another piece of our non-con- 
formity to the world, that renders us very clownish to 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 139 

the breeding of it, and that is. Thou for You, and that 
without difference or respect to persons : a thing that 
to some looks so rude, it cannot well go down without 
derision or wrath. But as we have the same original 
reason for declining this, as the foregoing customs, so 
I shall add what to me looks reasonable in our de- 
fence ; though, it is very probable, height of mind, in 
some of those that blame us, will very hardly allow 
them to believe that the word reasonable is recon- 
cileable with so silly a practice as this is esteemed. 

Sect. 2. Words, of themselves, are but as so many 
marks set and employed for necessary and intelligible 
mediums, or means, whereby men may understand- 
ingly express their minds and conceptions to each 
other; from whence comes conversation. Now, though 
the world be divided into many nations, each of which, 
for the most part, has a peculiar language, speech, or 
dialect, yet have they ever concurred in the same 
numbers and persons, as much of the ground of right 
speech. For instance ; I love. Thou lovest. He loveth, 
are of the singular number, importing but One, whether 
in the first, second, or third person : also. We love. Ye 
love. They love, are of the plural number, because in 
each is implied More than One. Which undeniable 
grammatical rule might be enough to satisfy any, that 
have not forgot their Accidence, that we are not be- 
side Reason in our practice. For if Thou lovest, be 
singular, and You love, be plural, and if Thou lovest, 
signifies but One ; and You love. Many ; is it not as 
proper to say. Thou lovest, to Ten men, as to say. 
You love, to One man ? Or, why not I love, for We 
love, and We love, instead of I love ? Doubtless it is 
the same, though most improper, and in speech ridi- 
culous. 



140 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

Sect. 3. Our next reason is ; if it be improper or 
uncivil speech, as termed by this vain age, how comes 
it, that the Hebrew, Greek, and Roman authors, used 
in schools and universities, have no other ? Why 
should they not be a rule in that, as well as other 
things ? And iivhy, I pray then, are we so ridiculous 
for being thus far grammatical ? Is it reasonable that 
children should be whipt at school for putting You 
for Thou, as having made false Latin ; and yet that 
we must be, though not whipt, reproached, and often 
abused, w^hen we use the contrary propriety of speech ? 

Sect. 4. But in the third place, it is neither im- 
proper nor uncivil, but much otherwise ; because it is 
used in all languages, speeches, and dialects, and that 
through all ages. This is very plain : as for example, 
it was God's language when he first spake to Adam, 
viz. Hebrew : also it is the Assyrian, Chaldean, Gre- 
cian, and Latin speech. And now amongst the Turks, 
Tartars, Muscovites, Indians, Persians, Italians, Span- 
iards, French, Dutch, Germans, Polonians, Swedes, 
Danes, Irish, Scottish, Welch, as well as English, 
there is a distinction preserved ; and the word Thou, 
is not lost in the word v»'hich goes for You. And 
though some of the modern tongues have done as we 
do, yet upon the same error. But by this it is plain, 
that Thou is no upstart, nor yet improper ; but the 
only proper word to be used in all languages to 
a single person ; because otherwise all sentences, 
speeches, and discourses may be very ambiguous, 
uncertain, and equivocal. If a jury pronounce a 
verdict, or a judge a sentence, (Three being at the 
bar upon three occasions, very differently culpable) 
and should say. You are here guilty, and to die, or 



NO CROSS, NO CKOWN. ' 141 

innocent, and discharged ; who knows who is guilty or 
innocent ? May he but One, perhaps Two ; or it may 
be all Three. Therefore our indictments run in the 
singular number, as Holdup Thy hand': Thou art 
indicted by the name of, &c. for that Thou, '' not 
having the fear of God, &c." and it holds the same 
in all conversation. Nor can this be avoided, but by 
many unnecessary circumlocutions. And as the pre- 
venting of such length and obscurity was doubtless 
the first reason for the distinction, so cannot that be 
justly disused, till the reason be first removed ; which 
can never be, whilst Two are in the world. 

Sect. 5. But this is not all ; it was first ascribed 
in way of flattery to proud popes and emperors; imitat- 
ing the Heathen's vain homage to their gods; thereby 
ascribing a plural honour to a single person ; as if 
One Pope had been made up of Many Gods, and One 
Emperor of many Men. For which reason. You, only 
to be used to Many, became first spoken to One. It 
seems the word Thou looked like too lean and thin a 
respect ; and therefore some, bigger than they should 
be, would have a style suitable to their own ambition ; 
a ground we cannot build our practice on ; for what 
begun it, only loves it still. But supposing You to be 
proper to a prince, it will not follow it is to a common 
person. For his edict runs, " We will and require," 
because perhaps in conjunction with his council ; and 
therefore You to a private person, is an abuse of the 
word. But as pride first gave it birth, so hath she 
only promoted it. ^ Monsieuf, sir, and madam, were, 
originally, names given to none but the king, his bro- 
ther, and their wives, both in France and England ; 

^ Howel's History of France. 



142 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

yet now the ploughman in ^France is called Monsieur, 
and his wife madam : and men of ordinary trades in 
England, sir, and their wives, dame ; (which is the 
legal title of a lady) or else mistress, which is the 
same with madam in French. So prevalent hath pride 
and flattery been in all ages, the one to give, and the 
other to receive respect, as they term it. 

Sect. 6. But some will tell us, custom should rule 
us ; and that is against us. But it is easily answered, 
and more truly, that though in things reasonable or 
indifferent, custom is obliging or harmless, yet in 
things unreasonable or unlawful, she has no authority. 
For custom can no more change numbers than genders, 
nor yoke One and You together, than make a man 
into a woman, or one a thousand. But if custom be 
to conclude us, it is for us : for as pustom is nothing 
else but ancient usage, I appeal to the practice of 
mankind, from the beginning of the world, through 
all nations, against the novelty of this confusion, viz. 
You to one person. Let custom, which is ancient 
practice and fact, issue this question. Mistake me 
not: I know words are nothing, but as men give them 
a value or force by use: but then, if you Vv'ill discharge 
Thou, and that You. must succeed in its place, let us 
have a distinguishing word in the room of You, to be 
used in speech to Many. But to use the same word 
for One and Many, when there are two, and that 
only to please a proud and haughty humour in man, 
is not reasonable in our sense ; which, we hope, is 
Christian, though not mo^dish. 

Sect. 7. But if Thou to a single person be improper 
or uncivil, God himself, all the holy fathers and pro- 
phets, Christ Jesus and his apostles, the primitive 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 143 

saints, all languages throughout the world, and our own 
law-proceedings are guilty; which, with submission, 
were great presumption to imagine. Besides, we all 
know it is familiar with the most of authors, to preface 
their discourses to the reader in the same language of 
Thee and Thou : as, Keader, Thou art desired, &c. or, 
Reader, this is written to inform Thee, of the occa- 
sion, &c. And it cannot be denied, that the most fam- 
ous poems, dedicated to love or majesty, are written in 
this style. Read of each in Chaucer, Spencer, Waller, 
Cowley, Dryden, &c. why then should it be so homely, 
ill-bred, and insufferable in us ? This, I conceive, can 
never be answered. 

Sect. 8. I doubt not at all, but that something 
altogether as singular attended the speech of Christ 
and his disciples : for I remember it was urged upon 
Peter in the high priest's palace, as a proof of his be- 
longing to Jesus, when he denied his Lord: "Surely 
(said they) Thou also art one of them; for thy speech 
bewrayeth Thee :"^ they had guessed by his looks, 
but just before, that he had been with Jesus; but when 
they discoursed him, his language put them all out of 
doubt; surely then he was one of them, and he had 
been with Jesus. Something it was he had learned 
in his company, that was odd and observable ; to be 
sure, not of the world's behaviour. Without question, 
the garb, gait, and speech of his followers differed, as 
well as his doctrine, from the world; for it was a part 
of his doctrine it should be so. It is easy to believe, 
they were more plain, grave,, and precise ; which is 
more credible, from the way which poor, confident, 
fearful Peter took, to disguise the business ; for he fell 

1 Matt. xxvi. 71, 73, 74. 



144 XO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

to cursing and swearing. A sad shift ! but he thought 
that the likeliest way to remove the suspicion, that 
was most unlike Christ. And the policy took; for it 
dilenced their objections; and Peter was as orthodox 
as they. But though they found him not out, the 
cock's crow did; which made Peter remember his dear 
suflering Lord's word, and "he went forth and wept 
Ditterly:" that he had denied his Master, who was 
then delivered up to die for him. 

Sect. 9. But our last reason is of most weight with 
me; and, because argumentum ad hominem, it is most 
heavy upon our despisers ; which is this : It should not 
therefore be urged upon us, because it is a most extra- 
vagant piece of pride in a mortal man, to require or 
expect from his fellow-creature a more civil speech, or 
grateful language, than he is wont to give the immor- 
tal God, and his Creator, in all his worship to him. 
Art thou, man, greater than he that made thee ? 
Canst thou approach the God of thy breath, and 
great judge of thy life, with Thou and Thee, and when 
thou risest off thy knees, scorn a Christian for giving 
to thee, (poor mushroom of the earth) no better lan- 
guage than thou hast given to God but just before? An 
arrogancy not to be easily equalled! But again, it is 
either too much or too little respect ; if too much, do 
not reproach and be angry, but gravely and humbly 
refuse it: if too little, why dost thou show to God no 
more? whither is man gone ! to what a pitch does 
he soar ? he would be used more civilly by us, than he 
uses God; which is to have us make more than a God 
of him : but he shall want worshippers of us, as well 
as he wants the divinity in himself that deserves to be 
worshipped. Certain we are, that the Spirit of God 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 145 

seeks not these respects, much less pleads for them, 
or would be wroth with any that conscientiously refuse 
to give them. But that this vain generation is guilty 
of using them, to gratify a vain mind, is too palpable. 
What capping, what cringing, what scraping, what 
vain unmeant words, most hyperbolical expressions, 
compliments, gross flatteries, and plain lies, under the 
name of civilities, are men and women guilty of in 
conversation ! Ah, my friends ! whence fetch you these 
examples ? What part of all the writings of the holy 
men of God warrants these things? But to come near 
to your own professions: Is Christ your example 
herein, whose name you pretend to bear? or those 
saints of old, that lived in desolate places, of whom the 
world was not worthy ?^ Or do you think you follow 
the practice of those Christians, that, in obedience to 
their Master's life and doctrine, forsook the respect 
of persons, and relinquished the fashions, honour and 
glory of this transitory world : whose qualifications 
lay not in external gestures, respects, and compliments, 
but in a meek and quiet spirit,^ adorned with temper- 
ance, virtue, modesty, gravity, patience, and bro- 
therly-kindness, which were the tokens of true honour, 
and only badges of respect and nobility in those 
Christian times? no! But is it not to expose our- 
selves both to your contempt and fury, that we imitate 
them, and not you? And tell us, pray, are not roman- 
ces, plays, masks, gaming, fiddlers, &c. the entertain- 
ments that most delight you? Had you the spirit of 
Christianity indeed, could you consume your most pre- 
cious little time in so many unnecessary visits, games, 
and pastimes; in your vain compliments, courtships, 

1 Heb. xi. ^ 1 Pet. iii. 3, 4. 

10 



146 

feigned stories, flatteries, a^nd fruitless novelties, and 
what not ? invented and used to your diversion, to 
make you easy in your forgetfulness of God; which 
never was the christian way of living, but entertain- 
ment of the heathens that knew not God. Oh, were 
you truly touched with a sense of your sins, and in 
any measure born again; did you take up the cross of 
Jesus, and live under it, these things, which so much 
please your wanton and sensual nature, would find no 
place with you ! This is not seeking the things that 
are above, to have the heart thus set on things that 
are below; nor, "working out your own salvation with 
fear and trembling," to spend your days in vanity. 
This is not crying with Elihu, "I know not to give 
flattering titles to men; for in so doing my Maker 
would soon take me away:" this is not to deny self, 
and lay up a more hidden and enduring substance, an 
eternal inheritance in the heavens, that will not pass 
away. Well, my friends, whatever you think, your 
plea of custom will find no place at God's tribunal: 
the light of Christ in your own hearts will over-rule 
it, and this Spirit against which we testify, shall then 
appear to be what we say it is. Say not, I am serious 
about slight things : but beware you of levity and 
rashness in serious things. 

Sect. 10. Before I close, I shall add a few testimo- 
nies from men of general credit, in favour of our non- 
conformity to the world in this particular. 

Luther, the great reformer, (whose sayings were ora- 
cles with the age he lived in, and of no less reputa- 
tion now, with many that object against us) was so 
far from condemning our plain speech, that, in his 

1 Col. iii. 1. 



NO CROSS, NO CROAVN. 147 

Jjudus, lie sports himself with You to a single person, 
as an incongruous and ridiculous speech, viz. 3Iag{ster, 
VGS estis iratus ! Master, are you angry ? as absurd 
with him in Latin, as, My Masters, art thou angry ? 
is in English. Erasmus, a learned man, and an exact 
critic in speech, than whom, I know not any we may 
so properly refer the grammar of the matter to, not 
only derides it, but bestows a whole discourse upon 
rendering it absurd : plainly manifesting, that it is 
impossible to preserve numbers, if You, the only word 
for more than One, be used to express One : as also, 
that the original of this corruption, was the corruption 
of flattery. Lipsius affirms of the ancient Romans, 
that the manner of greeting now in vogue, was not in 
use amongst them. To conclude ; Howel, in his His- 
tory of France, gives us an ingenious account of its 
original ; where he not only assures us, that anciently 
the peasants Thou'd their kings, but that pride and 
flattery first put inferiors upon paying a plural re- 
spect to the single person of every superior, and su- 
periors upon receiving it. And though we had not 
the practice of God and man so undeniably to justify 
our plain and homely speech, yet, since we are per- 
suaded that its original was from pride and flattery, 
we cannot in conscience use it. And however we may 
be censured as singular, by tLose loose and airy minds, 
that, through the continual love of earthly pleasures, 
consider not the true rise and tendency of words and 
things, yet, to us, whom God has convinced, by his 
Light and Spirit in our hearts, of the folly and evil of 
such courses, and brought into a spiritual discerning 
of the nature and ground of the world's fashions, they 
appear to be fruits of pride and flatter}^, and we dare 



148 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

not continue in such vain compliances to earthly 
minds, least we offend God, and burden our own con- 
sciences. But having been sincerely affected with the 
reproofs of instruction, and our hearts being brought 
into a watchful subjection to the righteous law of 
Jesus, so as to bring our deeds to the light/ to see in 
whom they are wrought, if in God, or not ; we cannot, 
we dare not conform ourselves to the fashions of the 
world that pass away, knowing assuredly, that '^ for 
every idle wcfrd that men speak, they shall give an 
account in the day of judgment."^ 

Sect. 11. Wherefore, reader, whether thou art a 
night-walking Nicodemus, or a scoffing scribe ; one 
that would visit the blessed Messiah, but in the dark 
customs of the world, that thou mightest pass as un- 
discerned, for fear of bearing his reproachful cross ; 
or else a favourer of Haman's pride, and countest 
these testimonies but a foolish singularity ; I must 
say, divine love enjoins me to be a messenger of truth 
to thee, and a faithful v/itness against the evil of this 
degenerate world, as in other, so in these things ; in 
which the spirit of vanity and lust hath got so great 
an head, and lived so long uncontrolled, that it hath 
impudence enough to term its darkness light, and to 
call its evil off-spring by the names due to a better 
nature, the more easily to deceive people into the 
practice of them. And truly, so very blind and in- 
sensible are most, of what spirit they are and ignorant 
of the meek and self-denying life of holy Jesus, whose 
name they profess, that to call each other Rabbi, that 
is, Master ; to bow to men, which I call worship, and 
to greet with flattering titles ; and do their fellow- 

1 John iii. 19, 20. » Matt. xii. 36. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 149 

creatures homage : to scorn that language to them- 
selves that they give to God, and to spend their time 
and estate to gratify their wanton minds ; the customs 
of the Gentiles, that knew not God, pass with them 
for civility, good breeding, decency, recreation, ac- 
complishments, &c. that man would consider, 
since there are but two spirits, one good, the other 
evil, which of them it is that inclines the world to 
these things ! and whether it be Nicodemus or Mordecai 
in thee, that doth befriend these despised Christians, 
which makes thee ashamed to disown that openly in 
conversation with the world, which the true light hath 
made vanity and sin to thee in secret ? Or, if thou 
art a despiser, tell me, I pray thee, which dost thou 
think thy mockery, anger, or contempt do most re- 
semble, proud Haman, or good Mordecai ? My friend, 
know, that no man hath more delighted in, or been 
prodigal of those vanities called civilities, than myself; 
and could I have covered my conscience under the 
fashions of the world, truly I had found a shelter from 
showers of reproach that have fallen very often and 
thick upon me ; but had I, with Joseph, conformed to 
Egypt's customs, I had sinned against my God, and 
lost my peace. But I would not have thee think it is 
a mere Thou or Title, simply or nakedly in themselves, 
we boggle at, or that we would beget or set up any 
form inconsistent with sincerity or true civility: there 
is but too much of that : but the esteem and value 
the vain minds of men do put upon them, that ought 
to be crossed and stripped of their delights, constrains 
us to testify so steadily against them. And this know, 
from the sense God's Holy Spirit hath begotten in us, 
that that which requires these customs, and begets 



150 NO CROSS, NO CROY/N. 

fear to leave them, and pleads for them, and is dis- 
pleased if not used and paid, is the spirit of pride 
and flattery in the ground, though frequency, use, or 
generosity, may have abated its strength in some: and 
this being discovered by the light that now shines 
from heaven, in the hearts of the despised Christians 
I have communion with, necessitates them to this tes- 
timony, and myself, as one of them, and for them, in 
a reproof of the unfaithful, who would walk undis- 
cerned, though convinced to the contrary; and for an 
allay to the proud despisers, who scorn us as a people 
guilty of affectation and singularity. For the eternal 
God, who is great amongst us, and on his way in the 
earth to make his power known, " will root up every 
plant that his right hand hath not planted." Where- 
fore let me beseech thee, reader, to consider the fore- 
going reasons, which were mostly given, me from the 
Lord, in that time, when my condescension to these 
fashions would have been purchased at almost any 
rate ; but the certain sensie I had of their contrariety 
to the meek and self-denying life of holy Jesus, re- 
quired of me my disuse of them, and faithful testi- 
mony against them. I speak the truth in Christ; I 
lie not ; I would not have brought myself under cen- 
sure and disdain for them, could I, v\rith peace of 
conscience, have kept my belief under a worldly be- 
haviour. It was extreme irksome to me, to decline 
and expose myself; but having an assured and repeated 
sense of the original of these vain customs, that they 
rise from pride, self-love, and flattery, I dared not 
gratify that mind in myself or others. And for this 
reason it is, that I am earnest with my readers to be 
cautious how they reprove us on this occasion : and 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 151 

do once more entreat them, that they would seriously 
weigh in themselves, whether it be the spirit of the 
world, or of the Father, that is so angry with our 
honest, plain, and harmless Thou and Thee : that so 
every plant that God, our heavenly Father, hath not 
planted in the sons and daughters of men, may be 
rooted up. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Sect. 1. Pride leads people to an excessive value of their persons. 2. 
It is plain from the racket that is made about blood and families: also 
in the case of shape and beauty. 3. Blood no nobility, but virtue. 4. 
Virtue no upstart: antiquity, no nobility without it, else age and blood 
would bar virtue in the present age. 5. God teaches the true sense of 
nobility, who made of one blood all nations : there is the original of 
all blood. 6. These men of blood, out of their feathers, look like other 
men. 7. This is not said to reject, but humble the gentleman : the 
advantages of that condition above others. An exhortation to re- 
cover their lost economy in families, out of interest and credit. 8. 
But the author has a higher motive ,• the gospel, and the excellencies 
of it, which they profess. 9. The pride of persons respecting shape 
and beauty : the washes, patches, paintings, dressings, &c. This ex- 
cess would keep the poor : the mischiefs that attend it. 10. But pride 
in the old, and homely, yet more hateful : that it is usual. The mad- 
ness of it. Counsel to the beautiful to get their souls like their bodies; 
and to the homely, to supply want of that, in the adornment of their 
lasting part, their souls, with holiness. Nothing homely with God, but 
Bin. The blessedness of those that wear Christ's yoke and cross, and 
are crucified to the world. 

Sect. 1. But pride stops not here ; she excites 
people to an excessive value and care of their persons; 
they must have great and punctual attendance, stately 
furniture, rich and exact apparel : all which help to 
make up that pride of life, that John tells us, "is not 
of the Father, but of the world. "^ A sin God charged 
upon the haughty daughters of Zion, Isa. iii. and on 
the proud prince and people of Tyrus, Ezek. xxvii. 

1 John ii. 16, 17. 



152 

28. Read these chapters, and measure this age by 
their sins, and what is coming on these nations by 
their judgments. But at the present I shall only 
touch upon the first, viz. the excessive value people 
have of their persons ; leaving the rest to be con- 
sidered under the last head of this discourse, which is 
luxury, where they may be not improperly placed. 

Sect. 2. That people are generally proud of their 
persons, is too visible and troublesome ; especially if 
they have any pretence either to blood or beauty ; the 
one has raised many quarrels among men ; and the other 
among women, and men too often, for their sakes, and 
at their excitements. But to the first : what a pother 
has this noble blood made in the world, antiquity of 
name or family ? whose father or mother, great grand- 
father, or great grand-mother, was best descended or 
allied ? what stock, or what clan, they came of ? what 
coat of arms they gave ? which had, of right, the pre- 
cedence? But, methinks, nothing of man's folly has 
less shew of reason to palliate it. 

Sect. 3. For first, What matter is it of whom any 
one is descended, that is not of ill-fame ; since it is 
his own virtue that must raise, or vice depress him ? 
An ancestor's character is no excuse to a man's ill 
actions, but an aggravation of his degeneracy : and 
since virtue comes not by generation, I am neither 
the better nor the worse for my forefather; to be 
sure, not in God's account, nor should it be in man's. 
Nobody would endure injuries the easier, or reject 
favours the more, for coming by the hand of a man 
well or ill descended. I confess it were greater honour 
to have had no blots, and with an hereditary estate to 
nave had a lineal descent or worth : but that was 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. ^ 153, 

never found, no, not in the most blessed of families 
upon earth, I mean Abraham's. To be descended of 
wealth and titles, fills no man's head with brains, or 
heart with truth : those qualities come from an higher 
cause. It is vanity then, and most condemnable 
pride, for a man of bulk and character to despise 
another of less size in the world, and of meaner alli- 
ance, for want of them ; because the latter may have 
the merit, where the former has only the effects of it 
in an ancestor: and though the one be great, by 
means of a forefather ; the other is so too, but it is 
by his own : then, pray, which is the bravest man of 
the two ? 

Sect. 4. 0, says the person proud of blood, it was 
never a good world, since we have had so many up- 
start gentlernen ! But what should others have said of 
that man's ancestor, when he started first up into the 
knowledge of the world ? for he, and all men and 
families, ay, and all states and kingdoms too, have 
had their upstarts, that is their beginnings. This is 
like being the true church because old, not because 
good ; for families to be noble by being old, and not 
by being virtuous. No such matter : it must be age 
in virtue, or else virtue before age ; for otherwise a 
man should be noble by means of his predecessor, and 
yet the predecessor less noble than he, because he was 
the acquirer : which is a paradox that will puzzle all 
their heraldry to explain ! Strange that they should 
be more noble than their ancestor, that got their no- 
bility for them ! But if this be absurd, as it is, then 
the upstart is the noble man ; the man that got it by 
his virtue : and those are only entitled to his honour, 
that are imitators of his virtue ; the rest may bear 



154 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

his name from his blood, but that is all. If virtue 
then give nobility, which Heathens themselves agree, 
then families are no longer truly noble, than they are 
virtuous. And if virtue go not by blood, but by the 
qualifications of the descendants, it follows, blood is 
excluded : else blood would bar virtue ; and no man 
that wanted the one, should be allowed the benefit of 
the other : which were to stint and bound nobility for 
want of antiquity, and make virtue useless. 

No, let blood and name go together ; but pray let 
nobility and virtue keep company, for they are nearest 
of kin. It is thus posited by God himself, that best 
knows how to apportion things with an equal and just 
hand. He neither likes, nor dislikes by descent ; nor 
does he regard what people were, but are. He re- 
members not the righteousness of any man that 
leaves his righteousness ;^ much less any unrighteous 
man for the righteousness of his ancestor. 

Sect. 5. But if these men of blood please to think 
themselves concerned to believe and reverence God, in 
his holy scriptures, they may learn, that in the begin- 
ning he made of one blood all nations of men, to 
dwell upon all the face of the earth ; and, that we 
all descended of one father and mother.^ A more 
certain original than the best of us can assign. From 
thence go down to Noah, who was the second planter 
of human race, and we are upon some certainty for 
our forefathers. What violence has raped, or virtue 
merited since, and how far we that are alive are con- 
cerned in either, will be hard for us to determine but 
a very few ages oiF us. 

Sect. 6. But, methinks, it should suffice to say, our 

1 Ezek. xviii. a Acts xvii. 26. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 155 

own eyes see that men of blood, out of their gears and 
trappings, without their feathers and finery, have no 
more marks of honour by nature stampt upon them, 
than their inferior neighbours. Nay, themselves being 
judges, they will frankly tell us, they feel all those pas- 
sions in their blood, that make them like other men, 
if not farther from the virtue that truly dignifies. 
The lamentable ignorance and debauchery that now 
rages among too many of our greater sort of folks, is 
too clear and casting an evidence in the point : and 
pray tell me, of what blood are they come ? 

Sect. 7. Howbeit, when I have said all this, I in- 
tend not, by debasing one false quality, to make inso- 
lent another that is not true. I would not be thought 
to set the churl upon the present gentleman's shoulder; 
by no means : his rudeness will not mend the matter. 
But what I have written is, to give aim to all where 
true nobility dwells, that every one may arrive at it 
by the ways of virtue and goodness. But for all this, 
I must allow a great advantage to the gentleman; and 
therefore prefer his station, just as the apostle Paul, 
who, after he had humbled the Jews, that insulted 
upon the Christians with their law and rites, gave 
them the advantage upon all other nations in statutes 
and judgments. I must grant, that the condition of 
our great men is much to be preferred to the ranks of 
inferior people. For, first, they have more power to 
do good : and, if their hearts be equal to their ability, 
they are blessings to the people of any country. 
Secondly, the eyes of the people are usually directed 
to them ; and if they will be kind, just, and helpful, 
they shall have their affections and services. Thirdly, 
they are not under equal straits with the inferior sort, 



156 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

and consequently, they have more help, leisure, and 
occasion, to polish their passions and tempers with 
books and conversation. Fourthly, they have more 
time to observe the actions of other nations; to travel, 
and view the laws, customs and interests of other 
countries, and bring home whatever is worthy or 
imitable. And so an easier way is open for great 
men to get honour ; and such as love true reputation, 
will embrace the best means to it. But because it too 
often happens, that great men do little mind to give 
God the glory of their prosperity, and to live an- 
swerable to his mercies ; but on the contrary " live 
without God in the world," fulfilling the lusts thereof, 
his hand is often seen, either in impoverishing or ex- 
tinguishing them, and raising up men of more virtue 
and humility to their estates and dignity. However, 
I must allow, that among people of this rank, there 
have been some of them of more than ordinary virtue, 
whose examples have given light to their families. 
And it has been something natural for some of their 
descendants to endeavour to keep up the credit of 
their houses, in proportion to the merit of their found- 
er. And, to say true, if there be any advantage in 
such descent, it is not from blood, but education : for 
blood has no intelligence in it, and is often spurious 
and uncertain ; but education has a mighty influence, 
and strong bias upon the affections and actions of men. 
In this, the ancient nobles and gentry of this kingdom 
did excel : and it were much to be wished, that our 
great people would set about to recover the ancient 
economy of their houses, the strict and virtuous dis- 
cipline of their ancestors, when men were honoured for 
their achievements, and when nothing more exposed a 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 157 

man to shame, than his being born to a nobility that 
he had not a virtue to support. 

Sect. 8. but I have an higher motive ! the glo- 
rious gospel of Jesus Christ, which having taught this 
northern isle, and all ranks professing to believe in 
it, let me prevail upon you to seek the honour that it 
has brought from heaven to all the true disciples of 
it, who are indeed the followers of God's Lamb, that 
" takes away the sins of the world. "^ Receive with 
meekness his gracious word into your hearts, that 
subdues the world's lusts, and leads in the holy way 
to blessedness. Here are charms no carnal eye hath 
seen, nor ear heard, nor heart perceived, but they are 
revealed to such humble converts by his Spirit. Re- 
member you are but creatures, and that you must die, 
and after all be judged. 

Sect. 9. But personal pride ends not in nobility 
of blood ; it leads folks to a fond value of their per 
sons, be they noble or ignoble ; especially if they 
have any pretence to shape or beauty. It is admi- 
rable to see, how much it is possible for some to be 
taken with themselves, as if nothing else deserved 
their regard, or the good opinion of others. It 
would abate their folly, if they could find in their 
hearts to spare but half the time to think of God, and 
their latter end, which they most prodigally spend in 
washing, perfuming, painting, patching, attiring and 
dressing. In these things they are precise, and very 
artificial ; and for cost they spare not. But that 
which aggravates the evil is, the pride of one might 
comfortably supply the need of ten. " Gross impiety 
that it is, that a nation's pride should not be spared 

1 John i. 29. 



158 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

to a nation's poor !" But what is this for at last? only 
to be admired, to have reverence, draw love, and com 
mand the eyes and affections of beholders. And so 
fantastic are they in it, as hardly to be pleased too. 
Nothing is good, or fine, or fashionable enough for 
them ; the sun itself, the blessing of heaven and com- 
fort of the earth, must not shine upon them, lest it 
tan them ; nor the wind blow, for fear it should dis • 
order them. impious nicety ! yet while they value 
themselves above all else, they make themselves the 
vassals of their own pride : worshipping their shape, 
feature, or complexion, whichsoever is their excellency. 
The end of all which is, but too often, to excite un- 
lawful love, which I call lust, and draw one another 
into as miserable as evil circumstances. In single 
persons it is of ill consequence ; for if it does not 
awaken unchaste desires, it lays no foundation for 
solid and lasting union : want of which helps to make 
so many unhappy marriages in the world : but in 
married people, the sin is aggravated ; for they have 
none of right to please, but one another ; and to affect 
the gaiety and vanity of youth, is an ill sign of loving 
and living well at home: it looks rather like dressing 
for a market. It has sad effects in families ; discon- 
tents, partings, duels, poisonings, and other infamous 
murders. No age can better tell us the sad effects of 
this sort of pride, than this we live in ; as, how ex- 
cessive wanton, so how fatal it has been to the sobriety, 
virtue, peace, and health of families in this kingdom. 
Sect. 10. But I must needs say, that of all crea- 
tures this sort of pride does least become the old and 
homely, if I may call the ill-favoured and deformed 
so ; for the old are proud only of what they had ; 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 159 

which shews to their reproach, their pride has out- 
lived their beauty, and when they should be a repent- 
ing, they are making work for repentance. But the 
homely are yet worse, they are proud of what they 
never had, nor ever can have. Nay, their persons 
seem as if they were given for a perpetual humiliation 
to their minds ; and to be proud of them, is loving 
pride for pride's sake, and to be proud without a temp- 
tation to be proud. And yet in my whole life I have 
observed nothing more doating on itself: a strange 
infatuation and enchantment of pride ! what ! not to 
see right with their eyes, because of the partiality of 
their minds ? This self-love is blind indeed. But to 
add expense to the vanity, and to be costly upon that 
which cannot be mended, one would think they should 
be downright mad ; especially if they consider that 
they look the homelier for the things that are thought 
handsome, and do but thereby draw their deformity 
more into notice, by that which does so little become 
them. 

But in such persons' follies we have a specimen of 
man : what a creature he is in his lapse from his pri- 
mitive image. All this (as Jesus said of sin of old) 
comes from within ;* that is the disregard that man 
and woman have to the Word of their Creator in their 
hearts, which shews pride, and teaches humility and 
self-abasement, and directs the mind to the true object 
of honour and worship; and that with an awe and 
reverence suitable to his sovereignty and majesty. 
Poor mortals! but living dirt; made of what they 
tread on; who, with all their pride, cannot secure 
themselves from the spoil of sickness, much less from 

1 Matt. XV. 11, 18, 19, 20. 



160 

the stroke of death. ^ ! did people consider the in- 
constancy of all visible things, the cross and adverse 
occurrences of man's life, the certainty of his depart- 
ure, and eternal judgment, it is to be hoped, they 
would bring their deeds to Christ's light in their 
hearts, and they would see if they were wrought in 
God or no, as the beloved disciple tells us from his 
dear Master's mouth.^ Art thou shapely, comely, 
beautiful ; the exact draught of an human creature ? 
admire that power that made thee so. Live an har- 
monious life to the curious make and frame of thy 
creation ; and let the beauty of thy body teach thee 
to beautify thy mind with holiness, the ornament of 
the beloved of God. Art thou homely or deformed ? 
magnify that goodness which did not make thee a 
beast; and with the grace that is given unto thee 
(for it has appeared unto all) learn to adorn thy 
soul with enduring beauty. Remember, the king of 
heaven's daughter, the church (of which true Chris- 
tians are members) is all glorious within: and if thy 
soul excel, thy body will only set off the lustre of thy 
mind. Nothing is homely in God's sight but sin : and 
that man and woman, that commune with their own 
hearts, and sin not ; who in the light of holy Jesus, 
watch over the movings and inclinations of their own 
souls, and that suppress every evil in its conception, 
they love the yoke and cross of Christ, and are daily 
by it crucified to the world, but live to God in that 
life*which outlives the fading satisfactions of it. 

1 Deut. XXX. 14. Eom. x. 8. « John. iii. 20, 2L 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 161 



CHAPTER XII. 

Sect. 1. The character of a proud man ; a glutton upon himself. Is 
proud of his pedigree. 2. He is insolent and quarrelsome, but cowardly, 
yet cruel. 3. An ill child, subject and servant. 4. TJnhospitable. 
5. No friend to any. 6. Dangerous and mischievous in power. 7. Of 
all things pride bad in ministers. 8. They claim prerogative above 
all others. 9. And call themselves the clergy ; their lordliness and 
avarice. 10. Death swallows all. 11. The way to escape these evils. 

Sect. 1. To conclude this great head of pride, let 
us briefly see upon the whole matter, what is the cha- 
racter of a proud man in himself, and in divers rela- 
tions and capacities. A proud man then is a kind of 
glutton upon himself; for he is never satisfied with 
loving and admiring himself; whilst nothing else with 
him is worthy either of love or care: if good enough 
to be the servant of his will, it is as much as he can find 
in his heart to allow ; as if he had only been made for 
himself, or rather that he had made himself. For as 
he despises man, because he cannot abide an equal, so 
he does not love God, because he would not have a 
superior : he cannot bear to owe his being to another, 
lest he should thereby acknowledge one above himself. 
He is one that is mighty big with the honour of his 
ancestors, but not of the virtue that brought them to 
it ; much less will he trouble himself to imitate them. 
He can tell you of his pedigree, his antiquity, what 
estate, what matches; but forgets that they are gone, 
and that he must die too. 

Sect. 2. But how troublesome a companion is proud 

man ! ever positive and controlling ; and if you yield 

not, insolent and quarrelsome : yet at the upshot of 

the matter, cowardly: but if strongest, cruel. He 

11 



162 NO CKOSS, NO CROWN. 

has no bowels of adversity, as if it were below him to 
be sensible : he feels no more of other men's miseries, 
than if he was not a man, or it was a sin to be sensi- 
ble. For not feeling himself interested, he looks no 
farther : he will not disquiet his thoughts with other 
men's infelicities : it shall content him to believe they 
are just : and he had rather churlishly upbraid them 
as the cause, than be ready to commiserate or relieve 
them. So that compassion and charity are with him 
as useless, as humility and meekness are hateful. 

Sect. 3. A proud man makes an ill child, servant, 
and subject : he contemns his parents, master, and 
prince : he will not be subject. He thinks himself too 
wise, or too old, to be directed ; as if it were a slavish 
thing to obey ; and that none were free, that may not 
do what they please ; which turns duty out of doors, 
and degrades authority. On the other hand, if it be 
an husband, or father, or master, there is scarcely any 
enduring. He is so insufferably curious and testy, 
that it is an affliction to live with him : for hardly can 
any hand carry it even enough to please him. Some 
peccadillo about his clothes, his diet, his lodging, or 
attendance, quite disorders him : but especially if he 
fancies any want in the state and respects he looks 
for. Thus pride destroys the nature of relations : on 
the one side,' it learns to contemn duty : and on the 
other side, it turns love into fear, and makes the wife 
a servant, and the children and servants, slaves. 

Sect. 4. But the proud man makes an ill neighbour 
too ; for he is an enemy to hospitality : he despises 
to receive kindness, because he would not shew any, 
nor be thought to need it. Besides, it looks too 
equal and familiar for his haughty humour. Emula- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 163 

tion and detraction are his element ; for he is jealous 
of attributing any praise to others, where just, lest 
that should cloud and lessen him, to whom it never 
could be due: he is the man that fears what he should 
wish, to wit, that others should do well. But that is 
not all ; he maliciously miscalls their acts of virtue, 
which his corruptions will not let him imitate, that 
they may get no credit by them. If he wants any 
occasion of doing mischief, he can make one ; either, 
they use him ill, or have some design upon him ; the 
other day they paid him not the cap and knee, the 
distance and respect he thinks his quality, parts, or 
merits do require. A small thing serves a proud man 
to pick a quarrel ; of all creatures the most jealous, 
sullen, spiteful, and revengeful : he can no more for- 
give an injury, than forbear to do one. 

Sect. 5. Nor is this all; a proud man can never be 
a friend to any body. For besides that his ambition 
may always be bribed by honour and preferment to 
betray that relation, he is unconversible ; he must not 
be catechised and counselled, much less . reproved or 
contradicted: no, he is too covetous of himself to spare 
another man his share, and much too high, stiff, and 
touchy ; he will not away with those freedoms that a 
real friendship requires. To say true, he contemns 
the character ; it is much too familiar and humble for 
him ; his mighty soul would know nothing besides 
himself, and vassals to stock the world. He values 
other men as we do cattle, for their service only; and, 
if he could, would use them so; but as it happens, the 
number and force are unequal. 

Sect. 6. But a proud man in power is very mis- 
chievous ; for his pride is the more dangerous by his 



164 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

greatness, since from ambition in private men, it be- 
comes tyranny in tbem : it would reign alone ; nay, 
live so, rather- than have competitors : aut Csesar, 
ant nulliis. Eeason must not check it, nor rules of 
law limit it; and either it can do no wrong, or it 
is sedition to complain of the wrong that it does. 
The men of this temper would have nothing thought 
amiss they do ; at least, they count it dangerous to 
allow it to be so, though so it be; for that would 
imply they had erred, which it is always matter of 
state to deny. No, they will rather choose to perish 
obstinately, than by acknowledging, yield away the 
reputation of better judging to inferiors ; though it 
were their prudence to do so. And, indeed, it is 
all the satisfaction that proud great men make to the 
world for the miseries they often bring upon it, that 
first or last, upon a division, they leave their real in- 
terest to follow some one excess of humour, and are 
almost ever destroyed by it. This is the end pride 
gives proud men, and the ruin it brings upon them, 
after it has punished others by them. 

Sect. 7. But above all things, pride is intolerable 
in men pretending to religion ; and, of them, in min- 
isters ; for they are names of the greatest contradic- 
tion. I speak without respect or anger to persons or 
parties ; for I only touch upon the bad of all. What 
shall pride do with religion, that rebukes it ? or am- 
bition with ministers, whose very office is humility ? 
And yet there are but too many of them, that, besides 
an equal guilt with others in the fleshly pride of the 
world, are even proud of that name and office, which 
ought always to mind them of self-denial. Yea, they 
use it as the beggars do the name of God and Christ, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 165 

only to get by it : placing to their own account the 
advantages of that reverend profession, and thereby 
making their function but a politic handle to raise 
themselves to the great preferments of the world. 
But, then, how can such be his ministers, that said, 
" My kingdom is not of this world ?" Who, of man- 
kind, more self- conceited than these men? If contra- 
dicted, as arrogant and angry as if it were their call- 
ing to be so. Counsel one of them, he scorns you ; 
reprove him, and he is almost ready to excommunicate 
you. ''I am a minister and an elder:" flying thither 
to secure himself from the reach of just censure, 
which indeed exposes him but the more to it : and 
therefore his fault canrfot be the less, by how much 
it is worse in a minister to do ill, and spurn at reproof, 
than an ordinary man. 

Sect. 8. but he pleads an exemption by' his 
office ! What ! shall he breed up chickens to pick 
out his own eyes ? be rebuked or instructed by a lay- 
man, or parishioner ? a man of less age, learning, or 
ability ! no such matter ; he would have us believe 
that his ministerial prerogative has placed him out of 
the reach of popular impeachment. He is not subject 
to vulgar judgments. Even questions about religion 
are schism : believe as he says : it is not for you to 
pry so curiously into the mysteries of religion: never 
good day since laymen meddled so much with the 
minister's office. Not considering, poor man ! that 
the contrary is most true ; not many good days since 
ministers meddled so much in laymen's business. 
Though perhaps there is little reason for the distinc- 
tion, besides spiritual gifts, and the improvement of 
them by a diligent use of them for the good of others. 



166 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

Such good sayings as these, "Be ready to teach; 
answer with meekness: let every man speak as of the 
gift of God, that is in him : if anything be revealed to 
him that sits by, let the first hold his peace ; be not 
lords over God's heritage, but meek and lowly; wash- 
ing the feet of the people, as Jesus did those of his 
poor disciples ;"^ are unreasonable and antiquated in- 
structions with some clergy ; and it is little less than 
heresy to remember them of these things : to be sure 
a mark of great disaffection to the church, in their 
opinion. For by this time their pride has made them 
the church, and the people but the porch at best ; a 
cipher that signifies nothing, unless they clap their 
figure before it ; forgetting, that if they were as good 
as they should be, they could be but ministers, stewards, 
and under-shepherds; that is, servants to the church, 
famHy, flock, and heritage of God ; and not that they 
are that church, family, flock, and heritage, which 
they are only servants unto. Eemember the words 
of Christ, " Let him tha/t would be greatest be your 
servant."^ 

Sect. 9. There is but one place to be found in the 
holy scripture, where the word clerus {x%'?^^o?) can pro- 
perly be applied to the church, and they have got it to 
themselves ; from whence they call themselves the 
clergy, that is, the inheritance or heritage of God. 
Whereas Peter exhorts the ministers of the gospel, 
" not to be lords over God's heritage, nor to feed them 
for filthy lucre. "^ Peter (belike) foresaw pride and 
avarice to be the ministers' temptations ; and, indeed, 
they have often proved their fall: and, to say true, 

1 2 Tim. ii. 24, 25. Tit. iii. 1 Cor. xiv. 30. 2 Matt. xx. 26. 

» 1 Pet. T. 2, .3. 



167 

they could hardly fall by worse. Nor is there any 
excuse to be made for them in these two respects, 
which is not worse than their sin. For if they have 
not been lords over God's heritage, it is because they 
have made themselves that heritage, and disinherited 
the people : so that now they may be the people's 
lords, with a salvo to good old Peter's exhortation. 

And for the other sin of avarice, they can only avoid 
it, and speak truth, thus, "that never feeding the 
flock, they cannot be said to feed it for lucre:" that 
is, they get the people's money for nothing. An ex- 
ample of which is given us, by the complaint of God 
himself, from the practice of the proud, covetous, false 
prophets of old, " that the people gave their money 
for that which was not bread, and their labour for that 
which did not profit them;"^ and why? Because then 
the priest had no vision ; and too many now despise 
it. 

Sect. 10. But alas! when all is done, what folly, 
as well as irreligion, is there in pride? It cannot add 
one cubit to any man's stature: What crosses can it 
hinder? What disappointments help, or harm frus- 
trate ? It delivers not from the common stroke ; sick- 
ness disfigures ; pain mishapes ; and death ends the 
proud man's fabric. Six feet of cold earth bound his 
big thoughts; and his person, that was too good for 
any place, must at last lodge within the strait limits 
of so little and so dark a cave: and who thought 
nothing well enough for him, is quickly the entertain- 
ment of the lowest of all animals, even worms them- 
selves. Thus pride and pomp come to the common end; 
but with this difi'erence, less pity from the living, and 
more pain to the dying. The proud man's antiquity 

1 Isa. Iv. 2. 



168 

cannot secure him from death, nor his heraldry from 
judgment. Titles of honour vanish at this extremity; 
and no power or wealth, no distance or respect can 
rescue or insure them; as the tree falls, it lies; and 
as death leaves men, judgment finds them. 

Sect. 11. 0, what can prevent this ill conclusion ? 
and what can remedy this woful declension from an- 
cient meekness, humility, and piety, and that godly 
life and power which were so conspicuous in the au- 
thority of the preachings, and examples of the living, 
of the first and purest ages of Christianity ! truly, 
nothing but an inward and sincere examination, by 
the testimony of the holy Light and Spirit of Jesus, 
of the condition of their souls and minds toward 
Christ, and a better inquiry into the matter and ex- 
amples of holy record. It was his complaint of old, 
" that light has come into the world, but men loved 
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were 
evil."^ If thou wouldest be a child of God and a be- 
liever in Christ, thou must be a child of light. man ! 
thou must bring thy deeds to it, and examine them 
by that holy lamp in thy soul, which is the candle of 
the Lord, that shews thee thy pride and arrogancy, 
and reproves thy delight in the vain fashions of this 
world. Religion is a denial of self ; yea, of self-reli- 
gion too. It is a firm tie or bond upon the soul to 
holiness, whose end is happiness : for by it men come to 
see the Lord. ^'The pure in heart (says Jesus) see 
Grod:"^ he that once comes to bear Christ's yoke, is 
not carried away by the devil's allurements ; he finds 
excelling joys in his watchfulness and obedience. If 
men loved the cross of Christ, his precepts and doctrine, 

1 John iii. 19. 2 Matt. v. 8. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 169 

they would cross their own wills, which lead them to 
break Christ's holy will, and lose their own souls in 
doing the devil's. Had Adam minded that holy light 
in paradise more than the serpent's bait, and stayed 
his mind upon his Creator, the rewarder of fidelity, 
he had seen the snare of the enemy, and resisted him. 
do not delight in that which is forbidden ! look not 
upon it, if thou wouldest not be captivated by it. 
Bring not the guilt of sins of knowledge upon thy own 
soul. Did Christ submit his will to his Father's, and, 
for the joy that was set before him, endure the cross, 
and despise the shame of a new and untrodden way to 
glory ?^ Thou also must submit thy will to Christ's 
holy law and light in thy heart, and for the reward 
he sets before thee, to wit, eternal life, endure his 
cross, and despise the shame of it. All desire to re- 
joice with him, but few will sufier with himj or for 
him. Many are the companions of his table ; not 
many of his abstinence. The loaves they follow, but 
the cup of his agony they leave. It is too bitter; 
they like not drink thereof. And divers will magnify 
his miracles, that are ofi*ended at the ignominy of his 
cross. But, man ! as he for thy salvation, so thou 
for the love of him must humble thyself, and be con- 
tented to be of no reputation,^ that thou mayest fol- 
low him; not in a carnal, formal way, of vain man's 
tradition and prescription, but as the Holy Ghost by 
the apostle doth express it, "In the new and living 
way,"^ which Jesus hath consecrated, that brings all 
that walk in it to the eternal rest of God : whereinto 
he himself is entered, who is the holy and only blessed 
Redeemer. 

« Heb. i. 2. « Phil. ii. 7. ' Heb. x. 19, 20. 



170 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Sect. 1. Avarice, (the second capital lust) its definition and distinction. 
2. It consists in a desire of unlawful things. 3. As in David's case 
about Uriah's wife. 4. Also Ahab's about Naboth's vineyard. 5. 
Next, in unlawful desires of lawful things. 6. Covetousness is a mark 
of false prophets, 7. A reproach to religion. 8. An enemy to gov- 
ernment. 9. Treacherous. 10. Oppressive. 11. Judas an example. 
12. So Simon Magus. 13. Lastly, in unprofitable hoarding of money. 
14. The covetous man a common evil. 15. His hypocrisy. 16. Gold 
his god. 17. He is sparing to death. 18. Is reproved by Christ and 
his followers. 19. Ananias and Sapphira's sin and judgment. 20. 
William Tindal's discourse on that subject referred unto. 21. Peter 
Charron's testimony against it. 22. Abraham Cowley's witty and 
sharp satire upon it. 

Sect. 1. I am come to the second part of this dis- 
course, which is avarice, or covetousness, an epidemi- 
cal and a raging distemper in the world, attended with 
all the mischiefs that can make men miserable in 
themselves, and in society : so near a-kin to the fore- 
going evil, pride, that they are seldom apart : libe- 
rality being almost as hateful to the proud as to the 
covetous. I shall define it thus : Covetousness is the 
love of money or riches : " which (as the apostle hath 
it) is the root of all evil."^ It brancheth itself into 
these three parts : First, Desiring of unlawful things. 
Secondly, Unlawfully desiring of lawful things. And 
lastly, Hoarding up, or unprofitably withholding the 
benefit of them from the relief of private persons, or 
the public. I shall first deliver the sense of scripture, 
and what examples are therein afibrded against this 
impiety ; and next my own reasons, with some authori- 
ties from authors of credit : by which it will appear, 
that the working of the love of riches out of the hearts 
of people, is as much the business of the Cross of Christ, 

1 Ephes. V. 3, 5. 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 171 

as the rooting out of any one sin that man is fallen 
into. 

Sect. 2. And first, of desiring or coveting of un- 
lawful things : It is expressly forbidden by God him- 
self, in the law he delivered to Moses upon Mount 
Sinai, for a rule to his people, the Jews, to walk by : 
" Thou shalt not covet (saith God) thy neighbour's 
house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor 
his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor 
his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's."^ This 
God confirmed by thunderings and lightnings, and 
other sensible solemnities, to strike the people with 
more awe in receiving and keeping of it, and to make 
the breach of these moral precepts more terrible to 
them. Micah complains full-mouth'd in his time, 
"■ They covet fields, and take them by violence ;"^ but 
their end was misery. Therefore was it said of old, 
"Wo to them that covet an evil covetousness :" this 
is to our point. We have many remarkable instances 
of this in scripture: two of which I will briefly report. 

Sect. 3. David, though otherwise a good man, by 
unwatchfulness is taken ; the beauty of Uriah's wife 
was too hard for him, being disarmed, and ofi" from 
his spiritual watch. There was no dissuasive would 
do : Uriah must be put upon a desperate service, 
where it was great odds if he survived it. This was 
to hasten the unlawful satisfaction of his desires by a 
way that looked not like direct murder. The contriv- 
ance took ; Uriah is killed, and his wife is quickly 
David's. This interpreted David's covetousness. But 
went it ofi" so ? No, David had sharp sauce with his 
meat. " His pleasure soon turned to anguish and 

1 Exod. XX. 2 Mic. 1, 2. 



172 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

bitterness of spirit: his soul was overwhelmed with 
sorrow : the waves went over his head : he was con- 
sumed within him : he was stuck in the mire and clay ; 
he cried, he wept ; yea, his eyes were as a fountain of 
tears. Guiltiness was upon him, and he must be 
purged ; his sins washed white as snow, that were as 
red as crimson, or he is undone for ever."* His re- 
pentance prevailed : behold, what work this part of 
covetousness makes ! what evil, what sorrow I that 
the people of this covetousness would let the sense of 
David's sorrows sink deep into their souls, that they 
might come to David's salvation! "Restore itie," 
saith that good man : it seems he once knew a better 
state : yes, and this may teach the better sort to fear, 
and stand in awe too, lest they sin and fall. For 
David was taken at a disadvantage : he was off his 
watch, and gone from the cross : the law was not his 
lamp and light, at that instant : he was a wanderer 
from his safety, his strong tower, and so surprised : 
then and there it was the enemy met him, and van- 
quished him. 

Sect. 4. The second instance is that of Naboth's 
vineyard : it was coveted by Ahab and Jezebel :^ that 
which led them to such an unlawful desire, found 
means to accomplish it. Naboth must die, for he 
would not sell it. To do it, they accuse the innocent 
man of blasphemy, and find two knights of the post, 
sons of Belial, to evidence against him. Thus, in the 
name of God, and in shew of pure zeal to his glory, 
Naboth must die ; and accordingly was stoned to 
death. The news of which coming to Jezebel, she 

» Psal. li. Psal. Ixxrii. Psal. xlii. 7. Psal. Ixix. 2, 14. Psal. vi. 6, 7. 
2 1 Kings xxi. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 173 

bid Ahab arise and take possession, for Naboth was 
dead ; but God followed both of them with his fierce 
vengeance. '' In the place where the dogs licked the 
blood of Naboth (saith Elijah in the name of the Lord) 
shall dogs lick thy blood ; even thine ; and I will 
bring evil upon thee, and take away thy posterity ;" 
and of Jezebel his wife and partner in this covetous- 
ness and murder, he adds, " the dogs shall eat her 
flesh by the walls of Jezreel." Here is the infamy 
and punishment due to this part of covetousness. 
Let this deter those that desire unlawful things ; the 
rights of others : for God that is just, will certainly 
repay such with interest in the end. But perhaps 
these are few : either that they do not or dare not 
shew it, because the law will bite if they do. But the 
next part hath company enough, that will yet ex- 
claim against the iniquity of this part of covetous- 
ness ; and by their seeming abhorrence of it, would 
excuse themselves of all guilt in the rest : let us con- 
sider that. 

Sect. 5. The next and most common part of covet- 
ousness is, the unlawful desire of lawful things ; espe- 
cially of riches. Money is lawful, " but the love of it 
IS the root of all evil," .if the man of God say true. 
So riches are lawful ; but they that pursue them "fall 
into divers temptations, snares and lusts ;" if the 
same good man say right. He calls them " uncer- 
tain" to shew their folly and danger that set their 
hearts upon them. Covetousness is hateful to God : 
he hath denounced great judgments upon those that 
are guilty of it. God charged it on Israel of old, as 
one of the reasons of his judgments : " For the 
miquity cf his covetousness (saith God) was I wroth, 



174 

and smote him." In another place, " Every one is 
given to covetousness ; and from the prophet to thf> 
priest, every one dealeth falsely; therefore will I give 
their wives unto others, and their fields to them that 
shall inherit them." In another place, God complained 
thus: "But thine eyes and thy heart are not but for thy 
covetousness."' By Ezekiel God renews and repeats 
his complaint against their covetousness : " and they 
come to thee as the people, and sit before thee as my 
people : they hear thy words, but will not do them ; 
with their mouths they shew much love, but their 
hearts go after covetousness."^ Therefore God, in the 
choice of magistrates, made it part of their qualifica- 
tion to hate covetousness ; foreseeing the mischief that 
would follow to that society or government where 
covetous men were in power ; that self would bias 
them, and they would seek their own ends at the cost 
of the public. David desired, " that his heart might 
not incline to covetousness, but to the testimonies of 
his God."^ And the wise man expressly tells us, 
that, " He that hateth covetousness, shall prolong his 
days;"'* making a curse to follow it. And it is by 
Luke charged upon the Pharisees, as a mark of their 
wickedness. And Christ, in that evangelist, bids his 
followers take "heed and beware of covetousness:"^ 
and he giveth a reason for it, that carrieth a most 
excellent instruction in it ; " for (saith he) a man's 
life consisteth not in the abundance of the things 
■which he possesseth:"^ but he goeth farther; he joins 
covetousness with adultery, murder, and blasphemy.'' 

1 Isa. Ivii. 17. Jer. vi. 13 ; cb. viii. 10, and xxii. 17. 

3 Ezek. xxxiii. 31. a Psal. cxix. 36. * Prov. xxvi. 16. 

» Luke xvi. 14. « Luke xii. 15. ' Mark vii. 22. 



175 

No wonder then if the apostle Paul is so liberal in his 
censure of this evil : he placeth it with all unrighteous- 
ness, to the Romans:^ to the Ephesians he writeth 
the like ; and addeth, '' Let not covetousness be so 
much as named among you:"^ and bids the Colossians, 
"mortify their members;"^ and names several sins, 
as fornication, uncleanness, and such like, but ends 
with covetousness ; with this at the tail of it, " which 
(saith he) is idolatry." And we know there is not a 
greater offence against God : nay, this very apostle 
calls " the love of money the root of all evil ; which 
(saith he) whilst some have coveted after, they have 
erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through 
with divers sorrows : for they that will be rich fall 
into temptation, and a snare, and many foolish and 
hurtful lusts. man of God, (saith he to his be- 
loved friend Timothy) flee these things, and follow 
after righteousness, faiti, love, patience, and meek- 
ness."'* * 
Sect. 6. Peter was of the same mind ; for he 
maketh covetousness to be one of the great marks of 
the false prophets and teachers that should arise 
among the Christians ; and by that they might know 
them : " Who (saith he) through covetousness, shall, 
with feigned words make merchandise of you."^ To 
conclude, therefore, the author to the Hebrews, at the 
end of his epistle, leaves this, with other things, not 
without great zeal and weight upon them : " Let 
(saith he) your conversation be without covetousness," 
he rests not in this generality, but goes on, " and be 
content with such things as you have : for God hath 
said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee:"® 

1 Rom. i. 29. 2 ^ph. v. 3. ^ Col. iii. 5, 6. 

* 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10, 11. » 2 Pet. ii. 3. « Heb. xiii. 5. 



176 NO CJROSS, NO CHOWN 

What then ? Must we conclude that those who are 
not content, but seek to be rich, have forsaken God ? 
The conclusion seems hard ; but vet it is natural : for 
such, it is plain, are not content with what they have; 
they would have more ; they covet to be rich, if they 
may ; they live not with those dependencies and re- 
^ gards to providence, to which they are exhorted ; nor 
is godliness, with content, great gain to them. 

Sect. 7. And truly it is a reproach to a man, espe- 
cially the religious man, that he knows not when he 
hath enough ; when to leave oiF; when to be satisfied: 
that notwithstanding God sends him one plentiful sea- 
son of gain after another, he is so far from making 
that the cause of withdrawing from the trafficks of the 
world, that he makes it a reason of launching farther 
into it ; as if the more he hath, the more he may. 
He therefore reneweth his appetite, bestirs himself 
more than ever, that he may have his share in the 
scramble, while any thing is to be got : this is as if 
cumber, not retirement, and gain, not content, were 
the duty and comfort of a Christian. that this 
thing was better considered ! for by not being so ob- 
servable nor obnoxious to the law as other vices are, 
there is more danger, for want of that check. It is 
plain that most people strive not for substance, but 
wealth. Some there be that love it strongly, and 
spend it liberally, when they have got it. Though 
this be sinful, yet more commendable than to love 
money for money's sake. That is one of the basest 
passions the mind of man can be captivated with : a 
perfect lust ; and a greater, and more soul-defiling 
one there is not in the whole catalogue of concupi- 
scence. Which considered, should quicken people into 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 177 

a serious examination, how far this temptation of love 
of money hath entered them ; and the rather, because 
the steps it maketh into the mind are almost insensible, 
which renders the danger greater. Thousands think 
themselves unconcerned in the caution, that yet are 
perfectly guilty of the evil. How can it be otherwise, 
when those that have, from a low condition, acquired 
thousands, labour yet to advance, yea, double and 
treble those thousands ; and that with the same care 
and contrivance by which they got them. Is this to 
live comfortably, or to be rich ? Do we not see how 
early they rise ; how late they go to bed ? how full 
of the change, the shop, the warehouse, the custom- 
house ; of bills, bonds, charter-parties, &c. they are ? 
running up and down as if it were to save the life of 
a condemned innocent. An insatiable lust, and therein 
ungrateful to God, as well as hurtful to men; who 
giveth it to them to use, and not to love : that is the 
abuse. And if this care, contrivance and industry, and 
that continually, be not from the love of money, in 
those that have ten times more than they began with, 
and much more than they spend or need, I know not 
what testimony man can give of his love to any thing. 
Sect. 8. To conclude. It is an enemy to govern- 
ment in magistrates ; for it tends to corruption. 
Wherefore those that God ordained, were such as 
feared him, and hated covetousness. Next, it hurts 
society ; for old traders keep the young ones poor : 
and the great reason why some have too little, and so 
are forced to drudge like slaves to feed their families, 
and keep their chin above water, is, because the rich 
hold fast, and press to be richer, and covet more, 
which dries up the little streams of profit from smaller 
12 



1T8 

folks. There should be a standard, both as to the 
value and time of traffic ; and then the trade of the 
master to be shared among his servants that deserve 
it. This were both to help the young to get their 
livelihood, and to give the old time to think of leaving 
this world well, in which they have been so busy, that 
they might obtain a share in the other, of which they 
have been so careless. 

Sect. 9. There is yet another mischief to govern- 
ment ; for covetousness leads men to abuse and de- 
fraud it, by concealing or falsifying the goods they 
deal in : as bringing in forbidden goods by stealth, or 
lawful goods so as to avoid the payment of dues, or 
owning the goods of enemies for gain ; or that they 
are not well made, or full measure ; with abundance 
of that sort of deceit. 

Sect. 10. But covetousness has caused destructive 
feuds in families : for estates falling into the hands of 
those, whose aVarice has put them upon drawing greater 
profit to themselves than was consistent with justice, 
has given birth to much trouble, and caused great op- 
pression. It too often falling out, that such executors 
have kept the right owners out of possession with the 
money they should pay them. 

Sect. 11. But this is not all ; for covetousness be- 
trays friendship: a bribe cannot be better placed to do 
an ill thing, or undo a man. Nay, it is a murderer too 
often both of soul and body : of the soul, because it 
kills that life it should have in God : where money 
masters the mind, it extinguishes all love to better 
things : of the body, for it will kill for . money, by 
assassinations, poisons, false witness, kc. I shall end 
this head of covetousness, with the sin and doom of 
two covetous men, Judas and Simon Magus. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 179 

Judas's religion fell in thorny ground: love of money 
choked him. Pride and anger in the Jews endea- 
voured to murder Christ ; but till covetousness set her 
hand to effect it, they were all at a loss. They found 
Judas had the bag, and probably loved money ; they 
would try him, and did. The price was set, and Judas 
betrays his Master, his Lord, that never did him 
wrong, into the hands of his most cruel adversaries. 
But to do him right, he returned the money, and to 
be revenged on himself, was his own hangman. A 
wicked act, a wicked end. Come on, you covetous ! 
"What say ye now to brother Judas ? Was he not an 
ill man ? Did he not very wickedly ? Yes, yes. 
"Would you have done so? No, no, by no means. 
Very well ; but so said those evil Jews of stoning the 
prophets, and that yet crucified the beloved Son of" 
God ; he that came to save them, and would have done 
it, if they had received him, and not rejected the day 
of their visitation. Rub your eyes well, for the dust 
is got into them ; and carefully read in your own con- 
sciences, and see, if, out of love to money, you have 
not betrayed the just One in yourselves, and so are 
brethren with Judas in iniquity. I speak for God 
against an idol ; bear with me : have you not resisted, 
yea, quenched the good spirit of Christ, in your pur- 
suit after your beloved wealth ? "Examine yourselves, 
try yourselves; know ye not your ownselves, that if 
Christ dwell not (if he rule not, and be not above all 
beloved) in you, you are reprobates;"^ in an undone 
condition ? 

Sect. 12. The other covetous man is Simon Magus, 
a believer too ; but his faith could not go deep enough 

' 2 Cor. xiii. 5. 



180 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

for covetousness. He would have driven a bargain 
with Peter, so much money for so much Holy Ghost ; 
that he might sell it again, and make a good trade of 
it ; corruptly measuring Peter by himself, as if he had 
only had a better knack of cozening the people than 
himself, who had set up in Samaria for the great power 
of God, before the power of God in Philip and Peter 
undeceived the people. But what was Peter's answer 
and judgment ? " Thy money (says he) perish with 
thee : thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter ; 
thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of 
iniquity:"^ a dismal sentence. Besides, it tends to 
luxury, and rises often out of it ; for from having much 
they spend much, and so become poor by luxury: 
such are covetous to get, to spend more, which tem- 
perance would prevent. For if men would not, or 
could not, by good laws well executed, and a better 
education, be so lavish in their tables, houses, furniture, 
apparel, and gaming, there would be no such tempta- 
tion to covet earnestly after what they could not spend: 
for there is but here and there a miser that loves 
money for money's sake. 

Sect. 13. Which leads to the last and basest part 
of covetousness, which is yet the most sordid; to wit. 
Hoarding up, or keeping money unprofitably, both to 
others and themselves too. This is Solomon's miser, 
*' that makes himself rich, and hath nothing:"^ a great 
sin in the sight of God. He complained of such, as 
had stored up the labours of the poor in their houses; 
he calls it their spoils, and that it is a grinding of the 
poor, because they see it not again. ^ But he blesseth 
those that consider the poor, and commandeth every 

1 Acts viii. 8, 9 to 24. ^ Proy. xvii. 7 ' Isa. iii. 14, 15. 



181 

one, "to open freely to his brother that is in need;"' 
not only he that is spiritually, but naturally so ; and, 
not to withhold his gift from the poor. The apostle 
charged Timothy in the sight of God, and before 
Jesus Christ, "that he fail not to charge them that 
are rich in this world, that they trust not in their un- 
certain riches, but in the living God, who giveth 
liberally; and that they do good with them, that they 
may be rich in good works. "^ Riches are apt to cor- 
rupt; and that which keeps them sweet and best, is 
charity: he that uses them not, gets them not for the 
end for which they are given; but loves them for them- 
selves, and not their service. The avaricious is poor 
in Jbis wealth: he wants for fear of spending; and in- 
creases his fear with his hope, which is his gain ; and 
so tortures himself with his pleasure: the most like to 
the man that hid his talent in a napkin, of all others ; 
for this man's talents are hid in his bags out of sight, 
in vaults, under boards, behind wainscots ; else upon 
bonds and mortgages, growing but as under ground ; 
for it doeth good to none. 

Sect. 14. This covetous man is a monster in na- 
ture ; for he has no bowels ; and is like the poles, 
always cold. An enemy to the state, for he spirits 
their money away. A disease to the body politic, for he 
obstructs the circulation of the blood, and ought to be 
removed by a purge of the law : for these are vices at 
heart, that destroy by wholesale. The covetous, he 
hates all useful arts and sciences as vain, lest they 
should cost him something the learning : wherefore in- 
genuity has no more place in his mind, than in his 
pocket. He lets houses fall, and highways poach, to 

» Psal. xli. 1. Deut. xv. 7 a 1 Tim. vi. 17. 



182 

prevent the charge of repairs : and for his spare diet, 
plain clothes, and mean furniture, he would place 
them to the account of moderation. monster of a 
man ! that can take up the cross for covetousness, and 
not for Christ. 

Sect. 15. But he pretends negatively to some reli- 
gion too ; for he always rails at prodigality, the better 
to cover his avarice. If you would bestow a box of 
spikenard on a good man's head, to save money, and 
to shew righteous, he tells you of the poor: but if 
they come, he excuses his want of charity with the 
unworthiness of the object, or the causes of his pov- 
erty, or that he can bestow his money upon those that 
deserve it better; who rarely opens his purse till 
quarter-day, for fear of losing it. 

Sect. 16. But he is more miserable than the 
poorest ; for he enjoys not what he yet fears to lose ; 
they fear not what they do not enjoy. Thus he is 
poor by overvaluing his wealth ; but he is wretched, 
that hungers with money in a cook's shop ; yet having 
made a god of his gold, who knows, but he thinks it 
unnatural to eat what he worships ? 

Sect. 17. But which aggravates this sin, I have 
myself once known some, that to get money, have 
wearied themselves into the grave ; and to be true to 
their principle, when sick, would not, spare a fee to a 
doctor to help the poor slave to live ; and so died 
to save charges : a constancy that canonizes them 
martyrs for money. 

Sect. 18. But now let us see what instances the 
scripture will give us in reproof of the sordid hoarders 
and hiders of money. A good-like young man came 
to Christ, and inquired the way to eternal life : Christ 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 183 

told him lie knew the commandments : lie replied, he 
had kept them from his youth : (it sterns he was no 
loose person, and indeed such are usually not so, to 
save charges) **and yet lackest thou one thing, (saith 
Christ,) sell all, distribute it to the poor, and thou 
shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow 
me." It seems Christ pinched him in the sore place; 
he hit the mark, and struck him to the heart, who 
knew his heart : by this he tried how well he had kept 
the commandments, to love God above all. It is 
said, the young man was very sorrowful, and went 
his way ; and the reason which is given, is, that he 
was very rich. The tides met, money and eternal 
life : ' contrary desires : but which prevailed ? alas ! his 
riches. But what said Christ to this ? " How hardly 
shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of 
God?" He adds, "It is easier for a camel to go 
through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter 
into the kingdom of heaven :" that is, such a rich 
man, to wit, a covetous rich man, to whom it is hard 
to do good with what he has : it is more than an ordi- 
nary miracle : who then would be rich and covet- 
ous ! It was upon these rich men that Christ pro- 
nounced his wo, saying, *' Wo unto you that are rich, 
for ye have received your consolation here :" What ! 
none in the heavens ? no, unless you become willing 
to be poor men, can resign all, live loose to the world, 
have it at arm's end, yea, underfoot, a servant, and 
not a master. 

Sect. 19. The other instance is a very dismal one 
too : it is that of Ananias and Sapphira. In the be- 
ginning of apostolic times, it was customary for those 
who received the word of life, to bring what substance 



184 

they had, and lay it at the apostles' feet : of these 
Joses, surnamed Barnabas, was exemplary. Among 
the rest, Ananias, and his wife Sapphira, confessing 
to the truth, sold their possession, but covetously 
reserved some of the purchase-money from the com- 
mon purse to themselves, and brought a part for the 
whole, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter, a 
plain and a bold man, in the majesty of the spirit, said, 
" Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to 
the Holy Ghost ; and to keep back part of the price 
of the land? whilst it remained, was it not thine own? 
and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power ? 
why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart ? 
thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." But what 
followed this covetousness and hypocrisy of Ananias ? 
Why, Ananias hearing these words, ^'he fell down, and 
gave up the ghost." The like befel his wife, being 
privy to the deceit their avarice had led them to. And 
it is said, that "great fear came upon all the church, and 
those that heard of these things :" and also should on 
those that now read them. For if this judgment was 
shewn and recorded, that we should beware of the like 
evils, what will become of those, that under the pro- 
fession of Christianity, a religion that teaches men to 
live loose from the world, and to yield up all to the will 
and service of Christ and his kingdom, not only retain 
a part, but all ; and cannot part with the least thing 
for Christ's sake. I beseech God to incline the hearts 
of my readers to weigh these things. This had not 
befallen Ananias and Sapphira, if they had acted as 
in God's presence, and with that entire love, truth, 
and sincerity, that became them. that people would 
use the light that Christ has given them, to search and 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 185 

see how far they are under the power of this iniquity ! 
For would they but watch against the love of the 
world, and be less in bondage to the things that are 
seen, which are temporal, they would begin to set their 
hearts on things above, that are of an eternal nature. 
Their life would be hid with Christ in God, out of the 
reach of all the uncertainties of time, and troubles 
and changes of mortality. Nay, if people would but 
consider how hardly riches are got, how uncertainly 
they are kept, the envy they bring ; that they can 
neither make a man wise, nor cure diseases, nor add 
to life, much less give peace in death : no, nor hardly 
yield any solid benefit above food and raiment, which 
may be had without them, and that if there be any 
good use for them, it is to relieve others in distress ; 
being but stewards of the plentiful providences of 
God, and consequently accountable for our steward- 
ship : if, I say, these considerations had any room in 
our minds, we should not thus post to get, nor care to 
hide and keep, such a mean and impotent thing. 
that the cross of Christ, which is the Spirit and Power 
of God in man, might have more place in the soul, 
that it might crucify us more and more to the world, 
and the world to us ; that like the days of paradise, 
the earth might again be the footstool ; and the 
treasure of the earth a servant, and not a god, to 
man ! Many have writ against this vice ; three I will 
mention. 

Sect. 20. William Tindal, that worthy apostle of 
the English reformation, has an entire discourse, to 
which I refer the reader, entitled, "The Parable of 
the Wicked Mammon." The next is — 

Sect. 21. Peter Charron, a famous Frenchman, and 



186 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

in particular for the book he wrote of Wisdom, hath a 
chapter against covetousness, part of which take as fol- 
loweth : "To love and affect riches, is covetousness : 
not only the love and affection, but also every over- 
curious care and industry about riches. The desire of 
goods, and the pleasure we take in possessing of 
them, is grounded only upon opinion: the immoderate 
desire to get riches, is a gangrene in our souls, which, 
with a venomous heat, consumeth our natural affec- 
tions, to the end it might fill us with virulent humours. 
So soon as it is lodged in our hearts, all honest and 
natural affection, which we owe either to our parents 
or friends, or ourselves, vanisheth away : all the rest, 
in respect of our profit, seemeth nothing ; yea, we 
forget in the end, and condemn ourselves, our bodies, 
our minds, for this transitory trash ; and as our pro- 
verb is. We sell our horse to get us hay. Covetous- 
ness is the vile and base passion of vulgar fools, who 
account riches the principal good of a man, and fear 
poverty, as the greatest evil ; and not contenting 
themselves with necessary means, which are forbidden 
no man, weigh that is good in a goldsmith's balance, 
when nature has taught us to measure it by the ell of 
necessity. For, what greater folly can there be, than 
to adore that which nature itself hath put under our 
feet, and hidden in the bowels of the earth, as un- 
worthy to be seen ; yea, rather to be contemned, and 
trampled under foot ? This is that which the sin of 
man hath only torn out of the entrails of the earth, 
and brought unto light to kill himself. We dig out 
the bowels of the earth, and bring to light those things, 
for which we would fight : We are not ashamed to es- 
teem those things most highly, which are in the lowest 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 187 

parts of the earth. Nature seemeth even in the first 
birth of gold, and the womb from whence it proceedeth, 
after a sort, to have presaged the misery of those that 
are in love with it ; for it hath so ordered the matter, 
that in those countries where it groweth, there groweth 
with it neither grass, nor plant, nor other thing that 
is worth any thing: as giving us to understand thereby, 
that in those minds where the desire of this metal 
groweth, there cannot remain so much as a spark of 
true honour and virtue. For what thing can be more 
base, than for a man to degrade, and to make himself 
a servant and a slave to that which should be subject 
unto him ? Riches serve wise men, but command a 
fool : for a covetous man serveth his riches, and not 
they him : and he is said to have goods as he hath a 
fever, which holdeth and tyrannizeth over a man, not 
he over it. What thing more vile, than to love that 
which is not good, neither can make a good man? 
yea, is common, and in the possession of the most 
wicked in the world ; which many times perverts good 
manners, but never amends them ? without which so 
many wise men have made themselves happy, and by 
which so many wicked men have come to a wicked 
end. To be brief; what thing more miserable than 
to bind the living to the dead, as Mezentius did, to 
the end their death might be languishing, and the 
more cruel ; to tie the spirit unto the excrement and 
scum of the earth, to pierce through his own soul with 
a thousand torments, which this amorous passion of 
riches brings with it ; and to entangle himself with 
the ties and cords of this malignant thing, as the 
scripture calls them ; which doth likewise term them 
thorns and thieves, which steal away the heart of man, 



188 

snares of the devil, idolatry, and the root of all evil. 
And truly, he that shall see the catalogue of those 
envies and molestations, which riches engender into 
the heart of man, as their proper thunderbolt and 
lightning, they would be more hated than they are 
now loved. Poverty wants many things, but covet- 
ousness all : a covetous man is good to none, and 
worse to himself." Thus much of Charron, a wise 
and great man. My next testimony is yielded by 
an author not unlikely to take with some sort of peo- 
ple for his wit ; may they equally value his morality, 
and the judgment of his riper time. 

Sect. 22. Abraham Cowley, a witty and ingenious 
man, yieldeth us the other testimony : of avarice he 
writeth us : " There are two sorts of avarice ; the one 
is but a bastard-kind, and that is a rapacious appetite 
of gain ; not for its own sake, but for the pleasure of 
refunding it immediately through all the channels of 
pride and luxury. The other is the true kind, and 
properly so called, which is a restless and unsatiable 
desire of riches not for any farther end or use, but 
only to hoard and preserve, and perpetually increase 
them. The covetous man of the first kind is like a 
greedy ostrich, which devoureth any metal, but it is 
with an intent to feed upon it, and in efi"ect it maketh 
a shift to digest and excern it. The second is like 
the foolish chough, which loveth to steal money only 
to hide it. The first doeth much harm to mankind, 
and a little good to some few ; the second doeth good 
to none, no, not to himself. The first can make no 
excuse to God or angels, or rational men, for his 
actions : the second can give no reason or colour, 
not to the Devil himself, for what he doeth : he is a 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 189 

slave to Mammon without Vv^ages. The first maketh 
a shift to be beloved, ay, and envied too, by some 
people : the second is the universal object of hatred 
and contempt. There is no vice hath been so pelted 
with good sentences, and especially by the poets, who 
have pursued it with satires, and fables, and allegories, 
and allusions, and moved, as we say, every stone to 
fling at it ; among all which, I do not remember a 
more fine correction, than that which was given it by 
one line of Ovid's : 



Multa 

Luxurise desunt, omnia avaritias. 

Which is, Much is wanting to luxury, all to avarice. 
To which saying I have a mind to add one member, 
and render it thus: Poverty wants some, luxury many, 
avarice all things. Somebody saith of a virtuous and 
wise man, that having nothing, he hath all. This is 
just his antipode, who, having all things, yet hath no- 
thing. 

And oil ! what man's condition can be worse, 
Than his, whom plenty starves, and blessings curse ? 
The beggars but a common fate deplore; 
The rich poor man's emphatically poor. 

I wonder how it cometh to pass, that there hath 
never been any law made against him : against him, 
do I say ? I mean, for him. As there are public pro- 
visions made for all other mad-men, it is very reason- 
able that the king should appoint some persons to 
manage his estate during his life, for his heirs com- 
monly need not that care, and out of it to make it 
their business to see, that he should not want alimony 
befitting his condition ; which he could never get out 



190 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

of his own cruel fingers. We relieve idle vagrants, 
and counterfeit beggars, but have no care at all of 
these really poor men, who are, methinks, to be re- 
spectfully treated, in regard of their quality. I might 
be endless against them ; but I am almost choked 
with the superabundance of the matter. Too much 
plenty impoverisheth me, as it doth them." Thus 
much against avarice, that moth of the soul, and 
canker of the mind. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Sect. 1. Luxury, what it is, and the mischief of it to mankind. An 
enemy to the cross of Christ. 2. Of luxury in diet, bow unlike Christ, 
and contrary to scripture. 3. The mischief it does to the bodies, as 
well as minds of people. 4. Of luxury in the excess of apparel, and 
of recreations : that sin brought the first coat: people not to be proud 
of the badge of their misery. 6. The recreations of the times enemies 
to virtue : they rise from degeneracy. 6. The end of clothes allowa- 
ble ; the abuse reprehended. 7. The chiefest recreation of good men 
of old, was to serve God, and do good to mankind, and follow honest 
vocations, not vain sports and pastimes. 8. The heathens knew and 
did better things. The sobriety of infidels above Christians. 9. Luxury 
condemned in the case of Dives. 10. The doctrine of the scripture 
positively against a voluptuous life. 

Sect. 1. I am now come to the other extreme, and 
that is luxury, which is, An excessive indulgence of 
self in ease and pleasure. This is the last great im- 
piety struck at in this discourse of the holy cross of 
Christ, which indeed is much of the subject of its 
mortifying virtue and power. A disease as epidemi- 
cal as killing: it creeps into all stations and ranks of 
men; the poorest often exceeding their ability to in- 
dulge tKeir appetite; and the rich frequently wallowing 
in those things that please the lusts of their eye and 
flesh, and the pride of life ; as regardless of the severe 
discipline of Jesus, whom they call Saviour, as if 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 191 

luxury, and not the cross, were the ordained Way to 
heaven. " What shall we eat, what shall we drink, 
and what shall we put on ?" once the care of luxurious 
Heathens, is now the practice, and, which is worse, 
the study, of pretended Christians. But let such be 
ashamed, and repent ; remembering that Jesus did 
not reproach the Gentiles for those things, to indulge 
his followers in them. They that will have Christ to 
be theirs, must be sure to be his, to be like-minded, 
to live in temperance and moderation, as knowing the 
Lord is at hand. Sumptuous apparel, rich unguents, 
delicate washes, stately furniture, costly cookery, and 
such diversions as balls, masques, music-meetings, 
plays, romances, &c. which are the delight and enter- 
tainment of the times, belong not to the holy path 
that Jesus and his true disciples and followers trod to 
glory : no, " through many tribulations (says none of 
the least of them) must we enter into the kingdom of 
God." I do earnestly beseech the gay and luxurious, 
into whose hands this discourse shall be directed, to 
consider well the reasons and examples here advanced 
against their way of living ; if haply they may come 
to see how remote it is from true Christianity, and how 
dangerous to their eternal peace. God Almighty by 
his grace soften their hearts to instruction, and shed 
abroad his tender love in their souls, that they may be 
overcome to repentance, and to the love of the holy 
way of the cross of Jesus, the blessed Redeemer of 
men. For they cannot think that he can benefit them, 
while they refuse to lay down their sins for the love 
of him that laid dovm his life for the love of them ; or 
that he will give them a place in heaven, that refuse 
him any in their hearts on earth. But let us examine 
. luxury in all its parts. 



192 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

Sect. 2. Luxury has many parts ; and the first that 
is forbidden by the self-denying Jesus, is the belly : 
" Take no thought, (says he to his disciples) saying, 
what shall we eat, or what shall we drink ? — for after 
these things do the Gentiles seek :"^ as if he had said, 
the uncircumcised, the Heathen, such as live without 
the true God, and make a god of their belly, whose 
care is to please their appetite, more than to seek God 
and his kingdom: you must not do so, but "seek you 
first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and 
all other things shall be added." That which is con- 
venient for you will follow : let every thing have its 
time and order. 

This carries a serious reprehension to the luxurious 
eater and drinker, who is taken up with an excessive 
care of his palate and belly, what he shall eat, and 
what he sha-11 drink : who being often, at a loss what 
to have next, therefore has an officer to invent, and a 
cook to dress, disguise, and drown the species, that it 
may cheat the eye, look new and strange ; and all to 
excite an appetite, or raise an admiration. To be sure 
there is great variety, and that curious and costly : 
the sauce, it may be, dearer than the meat : and so 
full is he fed, that without it he can scarce find out a 
stomach ; which is to force an hunger, rather than to 
satisfy it. And as he eats, so he drinks ; rarely for 
thirst, but pleasure ; to please his palate. For that 
purpose he will have divers sorts, and he must taste 
them all : one, however good, is dull and tiresome ; 
variety is more delightful than the best; and therefore 
the whole world is little enough to fill his cellar. 
But were he temperate in his proportions, his variety 

1 Matt. vi. 31, 32. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

might be imputed rather to curiosity than luxury. 
But what the temperate man uses as a cordial, he 
drinks hj full draughts, till inflamed b}^ excess, he is 
fitted to be an instrument of mischief, if not to others, 
always to himself; whom perhaps at last he knows 
not : for such brutality are some come to, they will 
sip themselves out of their own knowledge. This is 
the lust of the flesh, that is not of the Father, but of 
the world ; for upon this comes in the music and 
dance, and mirth, and the laughter which is madness,* 
that the noise of one pleasure may drown the iniquity 
of another, lest his own heart should deal too plainly 
with him. Thus the luxurious live; "they forget God, 
they regard not the afflicted." that the sons and 
daughters of men would consider their wantonness and 
their iniquity in these things ! How ill do they requite 
the goodness of God in the use and abuse of the plenty 
he yields them : how cruel are they to his creatures, 
how lavish of their lives and virtue, how thankless 
for them ; forgetting the giver, and abusing the gift 
by their lusts ; and despising counsel, and casting 
instruction behind them. They lose tenderness, and 
forget duty, being swallowed up of voluptuousness ; 
adding one excess to another. God rebuked this sin 
in the Jews by the prophet Amos : " Ye that put far 
away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to 
come near ; and lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch 
themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out 
of the flock, and the calves out of the stall ; and 
chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to them- 
selves instruments of music, like David : that drink 
wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief 

» Eccl. ii. 2, 

13 



194 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

ointments : but they are not grieved for the affliction 
of Joseph."' — These, it seems, "were the vices of the de- 
generate Jews, under all their pretence to religion ; 
and are they not of Christians at this day? Yea, they 
are; and these are the great parts of luxury struck at 
in this discourse. Remember Dives, with all his sump- 
tuous fare, went to hell : and the apostle pronounces 
heavy woes upon those "whose God is their belly;" 
for such "glory in their shame. "^ 

Christ places these things to the courts of worldly 
kings, not his kingdom ; making them unseemly in his 
followers ; his feast therefore, which was his miracle, 
to the multitude, was plain and simple ; enough, but 
without curiosity, or the art of cookery : and it went 
down well, for they were hungry ; the best and fittest 
time to eat. And the apostle, in his directions to his 
much beloved Timothy, debases the lovers of worldly 
fulness; advising him to "godliness and content, as 
the chiefest gain :" adding, " and having food and 
raiment, let us therewith be content."^ Behold the 
abstemious, and most contented life of those royal 
pilgrims, the sons of heaven, and immortal offspring 
of the great power of God ; they were in fasts and 
perils often, and eat w^hat was set before them ; and 
in all conditions learnt to be contented. blessed 
men ! blessed spirits ! let my soul dwell with yours 
for ever ! 

Sect. 3. But the diseases which luxury begets and 
nourishes, make it an enemy to mankind : for besides 
tho mischief it brings to the souls of people, it under- 
mines health, and shortens the life of man, in that it 
gives but ill nourishment, and so leaves and feeds cor- 

1 Amos vi. 3, 4, 5, 6. « phil. m. 19. » 1 Tira. vi. 6, 1, 8, 9. 10, 11. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 195 

rupt humours, whereby the body becomes rank and 
foul, lazy and scorbutic ; unfit for exercise, and more 
for honest labour. The spirits being thus loaded with 
ill flesh, and the mind effeminated, a man is made un- 
active, and so unuseful in civil society ; for idleness 
follows luxury, as well as diseases. These are the 
burdens of the world, devourers of good things, self- 
lovers, and so forgetters of God ; but (which is sad, 
and yet just) the end of those that forget God, is to 
*' be turned into hell."^ 

Sect. 4. But there is another part of luxury, 
which has great place with vain man and woman, and 
that is the gorgeousness of apparel ; one of the fool- 
ishest, because most costly, empty and unprofitable 
excesses people can well be guilty of. We are taught 
by the scriptures of truth to believe that sin brought 
the first coat ; and if consent of writers be of force, 
it was as well without as within : to those that so be- 
lieve, I direct my discourse, because they, I am sure, 
are the generality. I say, if sin brought the first 
coat, poor Adam's ofispring have little reason to be 
proud or curious in their clothes ; for it seems their 
original was base, and the finery of them will neither 
make them noble, nor man innocent again. ^ But 
doubtless blessed was that time, when innocence, not 
ignorance, freed our first parents from such shifts : 
they were then naked and knew no shame ; but sin 
made them ashamed to be longer naked. Since there- 
fore guilt brought shame, and shame an apron and a 
coat, how very low are they fallen, that glory in their 
shame, that are proud of their fall ! for so they are 
that use care and cost to trim and set off the very 

1 Psal. ix. 17. 2 Gen. iii. 21. 



196 

badge and liverj of that lamentable lapse. It is all 
one, as for a man that had lost his nose by a scandal- 
ous distemper, to take pains to set out a false one, in 
such shape and splendour, as should give but the 
greater occasion for all to gaze upon him ; as if he 
would tell them, he had lost his nose, for fear they 
should think he had not. But would a wise man be 
in love with a false nose, though ever so rich, and how- 
ever finely made ? Surely no : and shall people that 
call themselves Christians, shew so much love for 
clothes, as to neglect innocence, their first clothing ? 
Doth it not shew what cost of time, pains, and money, 
people are at to set off their shame, with the greatest 
shew and solemnity of folly ? is it not to delight in 
the effect of that cause, which they rather should la- 
ment? If a thief were to wear chains all his life, 
would their being gold, and well made, abate his in- 
famy ? to be sure his being choice of them would in- 
crease it. Why, this is the very case of the vain 
fashion-mongers of this shameless age ; yet will they 
be Christians, judges in religion, saints, what not ? 
miserable state indeed ! to be so blinded by the lust 
of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, 
as to call shame decency, and to be curious and ex- 
pensive about that which should be their humiliation. 
And not only are they grown in love with these vani- 
ties, and thereby express how wide they are from 
primitive innocence ; but it is notorious how many 
fashions have been and are invented on purpose to 
excite lust : which still puts them at a greater distance 
from a simple and harmless state, and enslaves their 
minds to base concupiscence. 

Sect. 5. Nor is it' otherwise with recreations, as 



197 

they call tliem ; for these are nearly related. Man 
was made a noble, rational, grave creature : his plea- 
sure stood in his duty, and his duty in obeying God ; 
which was to love, fear, adore, and serve him ; and 
in using the creation with true temperance and godly 
moderation ; as knowing well that the Lord, his judge, 
was at hand, the inspector and rewarder of his works. 
In short, his happiness was in his communion with 
God; his error was to leave that conversation, and 
let his eyes wander abroad to gaze on transitory 
things. If the recreations of the age were as plea- 
sant and necessary as they are said and made to be, 
unhappy then would Adam and Eve have been, that 
never knew them. But had they never fallen, and the 
world not been tainted by their folly and ill example ; 
perhaps man had never known the necessity or use of 
many of these things. Sin gave them birth, as it 
did the other ; they were afraid of the presence of the 
Lord, which was the joy of their innocency, when they 
had sinned ; and then their minds wandered^ sought 
other pleasures, and began to forget God ; as he com- 
plained afterwards by the prophet Amos : " They put 
far away the evil day : they eat the fat of the flock : 
they drink wine in bowls : they anoint themselves with 
the chief perfumes : they stretch themselves upon beds 
of ivory : they chant to the sound of the viol, and in- 
vent unto themselves instruments of music, like David, 
not heeding or remembering the afflictions and cap- 
tivity of poor Joseph ;"^ him they wickedly sold, in- 
nocency was quite banished, and shame soon began to 
grow a custom till they were grown shameless in the 
imitation. And truly, it is now no less a shame to ap- 

1 Amos vi. 3, 4, 5, 6. 



198 

proach primitive innocence by modest plainness, than 
it was matter of shame to Adam that he lost it, and 
became forced to tack fig-leaves for a covering. 
Wherefore in vain do men and women deck them- 
selves with specious pretences to religion, and flatter 
their miserable souls with the fair titles of Christian, 
innocent, good, virtuous, and the like, while such 
vanities and follies reign. Wherefore to you all, 
from the eternal God, I am bound to declare, " you 
mock him that will not be mocked, and deceive your- 
selves;"^ such intemperance must be denied, and you 
must know yourselves changed, and more nearly ap- 
proach to primitive purity, before you can be entitle'd 
to what you do but now usurp ; " for none but those 
who are led by the Spirit of God, are the children of 
God,"^ which guides into all temperance and meek- 
ness. 

Sect. 6. But the Christian world, as it would be 
called, is justly reprovable, because the very end of 
the first institution of apparel is grossly perverted. 
The utmost service that clothes originally were de- 
signed for, when sin had stripped them of their native 
innocence, was, as hath been said, to cover their shame, 
therefore plain and modest : next, to fence out cold, 
therefore substantial : lastly, to declare sexes, there- 
fore distinguishing. So that then necessity provoked 
to clothing, now pride and vain curiosity : in former 
times some benefit obliged, but now wantonness and 
pleasure : then they minded them for covering, but 
now that is the least part ; their greedy eyes must be 
provided with gaudy superfluities ; as if they made 
their clothes for trimming, to be seen rather than 

1 Gal. yi. 7. ^ j^om. viii. U. Gal. v. 24. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 199 

worn ; only for the sake of other curiosities that must 
be tacked upon them, although they neither cover 
shame, fence from cold, nor distinguish sexes; but 
signally display their wanton, fantastic, full-fed minds, 
that have them. 

Sect. 7. Then the best recreations were to serve 
God, be just, follow their vocations, mind their flocks, 
do good, exercise their bodies in such manner as was 
suitable to gravity, temperance and virtue ; but now 
that word is extended to almost every folly that carries 
any appearance above open scandalous filth, detested 
of the very actors when they had done it ; so much 
are men degenerated from Adam in his disobedience; 
so much more confident and artificial are they grown 
in all impieties ; yea, their minds, through custom, 
are become so very insensible of the inconveniency 
that attends the like follies, that what was once mere 
necessity, a badge of shame, at best but a remedy, is 
now the delight, pleasure, and recreation of the age. 
How ignoble is it ! how ignominious and unworthy of 
a reasonable creature ; man which is endued with un- 
derstanding fit to contemplate immortality, and made 
a companion, if not superior, to angels, that he should 
mind a little dust ; a few shameful rags ; inventions 
of mere pride and luxury ; toys, so apish and fantas- 
tic ; entertainments so dull and earthy, that a rattle, 
a baby, a hobby horse, a top, are by no means so 
foolish in a simple child, nor unworthy of his thoughts, 
as are such inventions of the care and pleasure of 
men. It is a mark of great stupidity, that such vani- 
ties should exercise the noble mind of man, and image 
of the great Creator of heaven and earth. 

Sect. 8. Of this many among the yerj Heathens 



200 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

of old had so clear a prospect, that they detested all 
such vanity; looking upon curiosity in apparel, and 
that variety of recreations now in vogue and esteem 
with false Christians, to be destructive of good man- 
ners, in that it more easily stole away the minds of 
people from sobriety to wantonness, idleness, effemi- 
nacy, and made them only companions for the beast 
that perishes : witness those famous men, Anaxagoras, 
Socrates, Plato, Aristides, Cato, Seneca, Epictetus, 
&c. who placed true honour and satisfaction in no- 
thing below virtue and immortality. Nay, such are 
the remains of innocence among some Moors and In- 
dians in our times, that they do not only traffic in a 
simple posture, but if a Christian, though he must 
be an odd one, fling out a filthy word, it is customary 
with them, by way of moral, to bring him water to 
purge his mouth. How much do the like virtues, and 
reasonable instances, accuse people professing Chris- 
tianity, of gross folly and intemperance ? that 
men and women had the fear of God before their 
eyes ! and that they were so charitable to themselves, 
as to remember whence they came, what they are 
doing, and to what they must return : that so, more 
noble, more virtuous, more rational and heavenly things 
might be the matters of their pleasure and entertain- 
ment ! that they would be once persuaded to believe 
how inconsistent the folly, vanity, and conversation 
they are mostly exercised in, really are with the true 
nobility of a reasonable soul ; and let that just prin- 
ciple, which taught the Heathens, teach them, lest it 
be found more tolerable for Heathens than such Chris- 
tians in the day of account ! For if their shorter 
notions, and more imperfect sense of things could yet 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 201 

discover so much vanity ; if their degree of light con- 
demned it, and they, in obedience thereunto, disused 
it, doth not it behove Christians much more ? Christ 
came not to extinguish, no, but to improve that know- 
ledge : and they who think they need do less now 
than before, had need to act better than they think. 
I conclude, that the fashions and recreations now in 
repute are very abusive of the end of man's creation; 
and that the inconveniences that attend them, as wan- 
tonness, idleness, prodigality, pride, lust, respect of 
persons, witness a plume of feathers, or a lace-coat, in 
a country village, whatever be the man that wears 
them, with the like fruits, are repugnant to the duty, 
reason, and true pleasure of man, and absolutely in- 
oonsistent with that wisdom, knowledge, manhood, 
temperance, industry, which render man truly noble 
and good. 

Sect. 9. Again, these things which have been 
hitherto condemned, have never been the conversation 
or practice of the holy men and women of old times, 
whom the scriptures recommend for holy examples, 
worthy of imitation. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
were plain men, and princes, as graziers are, over 
their families and flocks. They were not solicitous of 
the vanities so much lived in by the people of this 
generation, for in all things they pleased God by faith. 
The first forsook his father's house, kindred, and 
country ; a true type or figure of that self-denial all 
must know, that would have Abraham to their father. 
They must not think to live in those pleasures, fashions 
and customs they are called to leave ; no, but part 
with all, in hopes of the great recompense of reward, 
" and that better country, which is eternal in the 



202 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

heavens."' The prophets were generally poor me- 
chanics ; one a shepherd, another an herdsman, &c. 
They often cried out upon the full-fed, wanton Israel- 
ites to repent, to fear and dread the living God, to 
forsake the sins and vanities they lived in ; but they 
never imitated them. John Baptist, the messenger 
of the Lord, who was sanctified in his mother's womb, 
preached his embassy to the world in a coat of camel's 
hair, a rough and homely garment. Nor can it be 
conceived that Jesus Christ himself was much better 
apparelled, who, according to the flesh, was of poor 
descent, and in life of great plainness ; insomuch that 
it was usual in way of derision to say, " Is not this 
Jesus the son of Joseph a carpenter ?"^ And this 
Jesus tells his followers, that as for soft raiment, gor- 
geous apparel and delicacies, they were for kings' 
courts : implying, that he and his followers were not 
to seek after those things ; but seems thereby to ex- 
press the great difference that was betwixt the lovers 
of the fashions and customs of the world, and those 
whom he had chosen out of it. And he did not only 
come in that mean and despicable manner himself, 
that he might stain the pride of all flesh, but therein 
became exemplary to his followers, what a self-deny- 
ing life they must lead, if they would be his true dis- 
ciples. Nay, he farther leaves it with them in a para- 
ble, to the end that it might make the deeper impres- 
sion, and that they might see how inconsistent a 
pompous worldly-pleasing life is with the kingdom he 
came to establish and call men to the possession of: 
and that is the remarkable story of Dives ; who is 

1 Heb. xi. Amos vii. 15, 16. 

2 Luke i. 15. Matt. iii. 1, 2, 3, 4. Matt. xiii. 55. Mark vi. 3. Luke 
vii. 25. 



203 

represented, first, as a rich man ; next, as a voluptu- 
ous man in his rich apparel, his many dishes, and his 
pack of dogs ; and lastly, as an uncharitable man, or 
one Tvho was more concerned how to please the lust 
of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, 
and fare sumptuously every day, than to take compas- 
sion of poor Lazarus at his gate ; no, his dogs were 
more pitiful and kind than he. But what was the 
doom of this jolly man, this great Dives ? We read 
it was everlasting torment ; but that of Lazarus eter- 
nal joy with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the king- 
dom of God. In short, Lazarus was a good man, the 
other a great man : the one poor and temperate, the 
other rich and luxurious : there are too many of them 
alive ; and it were well, if his doom might awaken 
them to repentance. 

Sect. 10. Nor were the twelve apostles, the im- 
mediate messengers of the Lord Jesus Christ, other 
than poor men, one a fisherman, another a tent- 
maker ; and he that was of the greatest, though per- 
haps not the best employment, was a custom-gatherer. 
So that it is very unlikely that any of them were fol- 
lowers of the fashions of the world: nay, they were so 
fiir from it, that, as became the followers of Christ, 
they lived poor, afflicted, self-denying lives ; bidding 
the churches to walk as they had them for examples. 
And to shut up this particular, they gave this pathe- 
tical account of the holy women in former times, as 
an example of godly temperance, namely, that first 
they did expressly abstain from gold, silver, braided 
hair, fine apparel, or such like; and next, ''that their 
adornment was a meek and qufet spirit, and the bid- 
den man of the heart, which are of great price with 



204 

the Lord:" affirming, "that such as live in pleasure, 
are dead wliilst they live;"^ for that ihe cares and 
pleasures of this life choke and destroy the seed of the 
kingdom, and quite hinder all progress in the hidden 
and divine life. Wherefore we find, that the holy 
men and women of former times were not accustomed 
to these pleasures and vain recreations; but having 
their minds set on things above, sought another 
kingdom; which consists in "righteousness, peace, and 
joy to the Holy Spirit; who having obtained a good re- 
port, entered into their eternal rest,"^ therefore their 
works follow, and praise them in the gates. 



CHAPTER XY. 

Sect. 1. The judgments of God denounced upon- the Jews for their 
luxury ; all ranks included. 2. Christ charges his disciples to have a 
care of the guilt of it : a supplication to the inhabitants of England. 
3. Temperance pressed upon the churches by the apostles. 4. An ex- 
hortation to England to measure herself by that rule. 6. What Chris- 
tian recreations are. 6. TVho need other sports to pass away their time, 
are unfit for heaven and eternity. 7. Man has but a few days : they 
may be better bestowed : this doctrine is ungrateful to none that would 
be truly blessed. 8. Not only good is omitted by this luxurious life, 
but evil committed, as breach of marriage and love, loss of health and 
estate, &,C. play-houses and stages most instrumental to this mischief. 
9. How youth is by them inflamed to vanity: what mischief conies of 
revels, gamings, &c. Below tne life of noble heathens. 10. The true 
disciples of Jesus are mortified in these things: the pleasure and reward 
of a good employment of time. 

Sect. 1. But such excess in apparel and pleasure 
was not only forbid in scripture, but it was the ground 
of that lamentable message by the prophet Isaiah to 
the people of Israel: ''Moreover the Lord saith, be- 

1 Matt. iv. 18. Matt. ix. 9. Acts xviii. 1, 2, 3. John xiii. 5. 1 Cor. 
iv. 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. Phil. iii. 17. 1 Pet. ii. 21. Jam. i. 15, 20. 1 
Pet. iii. 4, 5. 1 Tim. v. 6. Luke viii. 14. 

2 Heb. xii. 2, 14, 15, 16. Heb. iv. 9. Rev. xiv. 13. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 205 

cause tlie daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk 
with stretched-forth necks and wanton eyes, walking 
and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with 
their feet ; therefore the Lord will smite with a scab 
the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and 
the Lord will discover their secret parts ; in that day 
the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling 
ornaments, and their cauls, or net-works, in the He- 
brew, and their round tires like the moon; the chains 
and the bracelets, and the spangled ornaments; the 
bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the head- 
bands, and the tablets, and the ear-rings, the rings 
and nose jewels; the changeable suits of apparel, and 
the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins; 
the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the 
veils : and it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet 
smells, there shall be a stink ; and instead of a girdle, 
a rent; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and in- 
stead of a stomacher, a girding of sack-cloth, and 
burning instead of beauty: thy men shall fall by the 
sword, . and thy mighty in the war ; and her gates 
shall lament and mourn, and she, being desolate, shall 
sit upon the ground."^ Behold, vain and foolish 
inhabitants of England and Europe, your folly and 
your doom! Yet read the prophet Ezekiel's vision of 
miserable Tyre, what punishment her pride and plea- 
sure brought upon her: and amongst many other cir- 
cumstances these are some; "These were thy mer- 
chants in all sorts of things ; in blue clothes and 
broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, emeralds, 
purple, fine linen, coral and agate, spices, with all 
precious stones and gold, horses, chariots, &c." For 

1 Isa. iii. 16 to 26. 



206 

•which hear part of her doom, "• Thy riches and thy fairs, 
thy merchandise, and all thy company, which is in the 
midst of thee, shall fail into the midst of the sea, in 
the day of thy ruin; and the inhabitants of the isles 
shall be astonished at thee, and their merchants hiss at 
thee ; thou shait be a terror, and shalt be no more."^ 
Thus hath God declared his displeasure against the 
luxury of this wanton world. Yet farther the prophet 
Zephaniah goes, for thus he speaks : " And it shall 
come to pass, in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that 
I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and 
all such as are clothed with strange apparel."^ Of 
how evil consequence was it in those times, for the 
greatest men to give themselves the liberty of follow- 
ing the vain customs of other nations; or of changing 
the usual end of clothes, or apparel, to gratify foolish 
curiosity ? 

Sect. 2. This did the Lord Jesus Christ expressly 
charge his disciples not to be careful about ; insinuat- 
ing that such as were, could not be his disciples : for, 
says he, "Take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? 
or what shall we drink ? or wherewithal shall we be 
clothed ? (for after all these things do the Gentiles 
seek) for your heavenly Father knoweth that you 
have need of all these things ; but seek ye first the 
kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these 
things shall be added unto you."^ Under which of 
eating and drinking, and apparel, he comprehends all 
external things, whatsoever ; and so much appears, as 
well because they are opposed to the kingdom of God 
and his righteousness, which are invisible and heavenly 
things, as that those very matters he enjoins them 

» Ezek. xxvii. « Zeph. i. 8. ^ Matt. vi. 31, 32, 33. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 207 

not to be careful about, are the most necessary, and 
tbe most innocent in themselves. If then, in such 
cases, the minds of his disciples were not to be solici- 
tous, much less in foolish, superstitious, idle inven- 
tions, to gratify the carnal appetites and minds of 
men : so certain it is, that those who live therein, are 
none of his followers, but the Gentiles ; and as he 
elsewhere says " the nations of the world who know 
not God."^ If then the distinguishing mark between 
the disciples of Jesus, and those of the world, is, that 
one minds the things of heaven, and God's kingdom, 
that " stands in righteousness, peace and joy in the 
Holy Ghost, "^ being not careful of external matters, 
even the most innocent and necessary, and that the 
other minds eating, drinking, apparel, and the affairs 
of the world, with the lusts, pleasures, profits, and 
honours that belong to it ; be you entreated for your 
souls' sakes, inhabitants of England, to be serious, 
to reflect a while upon yourselves, what care and cost 
you are at, of time and money, about foolish, nay, 
vicious things : so far are you degenerated from the 
primitive Christian life. What buying and selling, 
what dealing and chaffering, what writing and post- 
ing, what toil and labour, what noise, hurry, bustle 
and confusion, what study, what little contrivances 
and over-reachings, what eating, drinking, vanity of 
apparel, most ridiculous recreations ; in short, what 
rising early, going to bed late, expense of precious 
time, is there about things that perish ? View the 
streets, shops, exchanges, plays, parks, coffee-houses, 
&c. And is not the world, this fading world, written 
iipon every face ? Say not within yourselves, How 

1 Luke xii. 22 to 36. 2 Rom. xiv. 17. 



208 

otherwise should men live, and the world subsist? the 
common, though frivolous objection : there is enough 
for all ; let some content themselves with less : a few 
things plain and decent, serve a Christian life. It is 
lust, pride, avarice, that thrust men upon such folly : 
were God's kingdom more the exercise of their minds, 
these perishing entertainments would have but little 
of their time or thoughts. 

Sect. 3. This self-denying doctrine was ci)nfirmed 
and enforced by the apostles in their example, as we 
have already shewn : and in their precepts too, as we 
shall yet evince in those two most remarkable passages 
of Paul and Peter ; where they do not only tell us 
what should be done, but also what should be denied 
and avoided. "In like manner I will, that women 
adorn themselves in modest apparel : what is that ? 
with shame-facedness and sobriety ; not with broid- 
ered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array, [then it 
seems these are immodest] but, which becometh women 
professing godliness, with good works :"^ absolutely 
implying, that those who attire themselves with gold, 
silver, broidered hair, pearls, costly array, cannot in 
so doing be women professing godliness; making those 
very things to be contrary to modesty and what is 
good ; and consequently that they are evil, and unbe- 
coming "women professing godliness." To which the 
apostle Peter joins another precept after the like sort, 
viz. " Whose adorning, let it not be that outward 
adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, 
or of putting on of apparel : what then ? but let it be 
the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not cor- 
ruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, 
which is in the sight of God of great price." And 

1 1 Tim. ii. 9,10. 



209 

as an inducement, he adds, "for after this manner in 
the old time, the holy^ women, who so trusted in 
God, adorned themselves." Which doth not only 
intimate, that both holy women were so adorned, and 
that it behoves such as would be holy, and trust in 
the holy God, to be so adorned ; but also, that they 
who used those forbidden ornaments, were the women 
and people in all ages, that, for all their talk, were 
not holy, nor did trust in God." Such are so far 
from trusting in God, that the apostle Paul expressly 
says, that "she that liveth in pleasure is dead to God, 
whilst she liveth :"^ and the same apostle farther en- 
joined, "that Christians should have their conversation 
in heaven, and their minds fixed on things above: walk 
honestly as in the day, not in rioting and drunkenness, 
not in chambering and wantonness, not in envy and 
strife: let not fornication, iincleanness, or covetous- 
ness be once named amongst you ; neither filthiness, 
nor foolish talking or jesting, which are not convenient; 
but rather giving of thanks : and let no corrupt com- 
munication proceed out of your mouth, but that which 
is good, to the use of edifying, that it may minister 
grace unto the hearers. But put ye on the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil 
the desires thereof. And grieve not the Holy Spirit; 
intimating such conversation doth; but be ye followers 
of God, as dear children : walk circumspectly, not as 
fools, but as wise ; redeeming the time, because the 
days are evil."^ 

1 Note, not a word of men, as if this vanity belonged not to the sex • 
let them observe that. 

2 1 Tim. V. 6. 

' Phil. iii. 20. Col. iii. 1, 2, 3, 4. Rom. xiii. 13, 14. Eph. v. 2, 3. ch. 
iv. 29. Rom. xiii. 1 1. Eph. iv. 30 ; ch. v. 1, 15, 16. 

14 



210 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

Sect. 4. By this measure yourselves, inhabitants 
of this land, who think yourselves wronged if not ac- 
counted Christians : see what proportion your life and 
spirit bear with these most holy and self-denying pre- 
cepts and examples. Well, my friends, my soul 
mourns for you : I have been with and among you : 
your life and pastime are not strangers to my notice ; 
and with compassion, yea, inexpressible pity, I bewail 
your folly. that you would be wise ! that the 
just principle in yourselves were heard ! that eter- 
nity had time to plead a little with you ! Why should 
your beds, your glasses, your clothes, your tables, 
your loves, your plays, your parks, your treats, your 
recreations (poor perishing joys) have all your souls, 
your time, your care, your purse, and consideration ? 
be ye admonished, I beseech you, in the name of the 
living God, by one that some of you know hath had 
his share in these things, and consequently time to 
know how little the like vanities conduce to true and 
solid happiness. No, my friends, God Almighty 
knows, and would to God, you would believe and 
follow me, they end in shame and sorrow. Faithful 
is that most Holy One, who hath determined, that 
every man and woman shall reap what they sow : and 
will not trouble, anguish, and disappointment, be a sad 
and dreadful harvest for you to reap, for all your mis- 
spent time, and substance about superfluities and vain 
recreations ? Eetire then : quench not the Holy Spirit 
in yourselves ; redeem your precious abused time ; 
frequent such conversation as may help you against 
your evil inclinations ; so shall you follow the exam- 
ples, and keep the precepts of Jesus Christ, and all 
his followers. For hitherto we have plainly demon- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 211 

strated, that no such way of living, as is in request 
among you of the land, ever was, or can be truly 
Christian. 

Sect. 5. But the best recreation-is to do good: and 
all Christian customs tend to temperance, and some 
good and beneficial end ; which more or less may be 
in every action. For instance : if men and women 
would be diligent to follow their respective callings, 
frequent the assemblies of religious people, visit sober 
neighbours to be edified, and wicked ones to reform 
them ; be careful in the tuition of their children, ex- 
emplary to their servants, relieve the necessitous, see 
the sick, visit the imprisoned, administer to their in- 
firmities, and indispositions, endeavour peace amongst 
neighbours : also study moderately such commendable 
and profitable arts as navigation^ arithmetic, geometry, 
husbandry, gardening, handicraft, medicine, &c. And, 
that women spin, sow, knit, weave, garden, preserve, 
and the like housewifely and honest employments, the 
practice of the greatest and noblest matrons, and 
youth among the very Heathens, helping others, who 
for want are unable to keep servants, to ease them in 
their necessary affairs ; often and private retirements 
from all worldly objects, to enjoy the Lord : secret 
and steady meditations on the divine life and heavenly 
inheritance : which to leave undone, and prosecute 
other things, under the notion of recreations, is ac- 
cursed lust and damnable impiety. It is most vain 
in any to object, that they cannot do these always, 
and therefore, why may not they use these common 
diversions ? For I ask, what would such be at ? what 
would they do ? and what would they have ? They 
that have trades, have not time enough to do the half 



212 

of what hath been recommended. And as for those 
"who have nothing to do, and indeed do nothing, which 
is worse, but sin, which is worst of all, here is variety 
of pleasant, of profitable, nay, of very honourable 
employments and diversions for them. Such can with 
great delight sit at a play, a ball, a masque, at cards, 
dice, &c. drinking, revelling, feasting, and the like, 
an entire day ; yea, turn night into day, and invert 
the very order of the creation, to humour their lusts. 
And were it not for eating and sleeping, it would be 
past a doubt, whether they would ever find time to 
cease from those vain and sinful pastimes, till the 
hasty calls of death should summon their appearance 
in another world. Yet do they think it intolerable, 
and hardly possible for any to sit so long at a profit- 
able or religious exercise. 

Sect. 6. But how do these think to pass their vast 
eternity away? "for as the tree falls so it lies."^ 
Let none deceive themselves, nor mock their immortal 
souls, with a pleasant, but most false and pernicious 
dream, that they shall be changed by a constraining 
and irresistible power, just when their souls take leave 
of their bodies : no, no, my friends, " what you sow, 
that shall you reap :"^ if vanity, folly, visible delights, 
fading pleasures ; no better shall you ever reap than 
corruption, sorrow, and the woful anguish of eternal 
dis?.ppointments. But alas ! what is the reason that 
the cry is so common. Must we always doat on these 
things ? why, most certainly it is this, they know not 
what is the joy and peace of speaking and acting as 
in the presence of the most holy God: that passes 
such vain understandings, darkened with the glories 

1 Eccl. xi. 3. ? Gal. vi. 4 to 9. Eph. v. 6. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 213 

and pleasures of the god of this world ; "whose reli- 
gion is so many mumbled and ignorantly devout-said 
■words, as they teach parrots ; for if they were of 
those whose hearts are set on things above, and whose 
treasure is heaven,' there would their minds inhabit, 
and their greatest pleasure constantly be : and such 
who call that a burden, and seek to be refreshed by 
such pastimes, as a play, a morrice-dance, a punchi- 
nello, a ball, a masque, cards, dice, or the like, I am 
bold to affirm, they not only never knew the divine 
excellency of God, and his truth, but thereby declare 
themselves most unfit for them in another world. 
For how is it possible that they can be delighted to 
eternity, with that satisfaction which is so tedious and 
irksome for thirty or forty years ; that for a supply 
of recreation to their minds, the little toys and fop- 
peries of this perishing world, must be brought into 
practice and request? Surely, those who are to reckon 
for every idle word, must not use sports to pass away 
that time, which they are commanded so dilgently to 
redeem f considering no less work is to be done, than 
making their "calling and election sure :"^ much less 
study to invent recreations for their vain minds, and 
spend the greatest part of their days and months, and 
years therein, not allowing a quarter of that time 
towards the great concernment of their lives and souls, 
for which that time was given them.'* 

Sect. 7. There is but little need to drive away that, 
by foolish divertisements, which flies away so swiftly 
of itself ; and when once gone is never to be recalled. 

1 Phil. iv. 6, 7. Eph. iv. 18, 19, 20. Matt. xiii. 8, 9. Rom. x. 2. 
a Matt. xii. 18. •' Eph. v. 1. 

* Phil. iii. 14. 2 Pet. ii. 10. Col. iv. 5. 



214 

Plajs, parks, balls, treats, romances, musics, love-son- 
nets, and the like, will be a very invalid plea for any 
other purpose than their condemnation, who are taken 
and delighted with them, at the revelation of the 
righteous judgment of God. my friends ! these 
were never invented, but by that mind which had first 
lost the joy and ravishing delights of God's holy pres- 
ence.' So that we conclude, first, that of those many 
excellent employments already mentioned, as worthy 
to possess such minds as are inclined to these vanities, 
there is store enough of time, not only to take up their 
spare hours, but double so much, and that with great 
delight, diversion, and profit, both to themselves and 
others ; were they but once weaned from vain and 
fruitless fopperies, and did they but consider, how 
great the satisfaction, and how certain the rewards 
are, which attend this, and the other life, for such 
universal benefits and virtuous examples. The second 
conclusion is, that what is alleged by me can be dis- 
pleasing and ungrateful to none, but such as know not 
what it is to walk with God, to prepare for an eternal 
mansion, to have the mind exercised on heavenly and 
good things, to follow the examples of the holy men 
and women of former happy ages : such as know not 
Christ's doctrine, life, death, and resurrection, but 
only have their minds .fastened to the flesh, and by 
the objects of it are allured, deceived, and miserably 
ruined : and lastly, that despise heaven, and the joys 
that are not seen, though eternal, for a few perishing 
trifles that they do see, though they are decreed to 
pass away. How these are baptized with Christ, into 
his holy life, cruel sufferings, shameful death, and 

I 1 Tim. iv. 5 to 11. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 215 

raised with him to immortal desires, heavenly medita- 
tions, a divine new life, growing into the knowledge 
of heavenly mysteries, and all holiness, even unto the 
measure of the stature of Jesus Christ, the great ex- 
ample of all ; how, I say, these resemble most neces- 
sary Christian qualifications, and what share they have 
therein, let their consciences tell them upon a serious 
enquiry in the cool of the day.^ 

Sect. 8. But in the next place, such attire and 
pastimes do not only shew the exceeding worldliness 
of people's inclinations, and their very great ignorance 
of the divine joys, but by imitating these fashions, 
and frequenting these places and diversions, not only 
much good is omitted, but a certain door is opened to 
much evil to be committed. As first, precious time, 
that were worth a world ©n a dying bed, is lost: 
money, that might be employed for some general 
good, vainly expended : pleasure is taken in mere 
shame ; lusts are gratified, the minds of people alien- 
ated from heavenly things, and exercised about mere 
folly : pride taken in clothes, first given to cover 
nakedness, whereby the creature is neglected, and the 
noble creation of God disregarded, and men become 
acceptable by their trims, and the alamodeness of their 
dress and apparel: from whence respect to persons 
doth so naturally arise, that for any to deny it, is to 
affirm the sun shines not at noon-day : nothing being 
more notorious, than the cringing, scraping, sirring 
and madaming of persons, according to the gaudiness 
of their attire, wkich is detestable to God, and so ab- 
solutely forbidden in the scriptures, that to do it, is 

1 Rom. vi. 3 to 8. 1 Cor. xii. 13. Gal. iii. 21. Col. ii. 12, 13. Eph. 
iii. 12, 13. 



216 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

to break the whole law, and consequently to incur the 
punishment thereof. Next, what great holes do the 
like practices make in men's estates ? how are their 
vocations neglected ? young women deluded ? the 
marriage bed invaded ? contentions and family-animo- 
sities begotten ? partings of man and wife ? disinher- 
iting of children ? dismissing of servants ? On the 
other hand, servants made slaves, children disregarded, 
wives despised, and shamefully abused, through the 
intemperance of their husbands ; which either puts 
them upon the same extravagance, or, laying such 
cruel injustice to heart, they pine away their days in 
grief and misery.^ But of all these wretched inven- 
tions, the play-houses, like so many hellish seminaries, 
do most perniciously conduce to these sad and misera- 
ble ends; where little besides frothy, v/anton, if not 
directly obscene and profane humours, are represented; 
which are of notorious ill consequence upon the minds 
of most, especially the youth that frequent them. 
And thus it is that idle and debauched stagers are 
encouraged and maintained ; than which scarcely a 
greater abomination can be thought on of that rank 
of impieties, as will anon particularly be shown ; and 
truly, nothing but the excessive pleasure people take 
therein could blind their eyes from seeing it. 

Sect. 9. But lastly, the grand indisposition of mind 
in people to solid, serious, and heavenly meditations, 
by the almost continual as well as pleasant rumination 
in their minds, of those various adventures they have 
been entertained with, which in the more youthful 
can never miss to inflame and animate their boiling 
and airy constitutions.^ And in the rest of the com- 

1 James ii, 1 to 9. ^ Job xxxy. 13. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 217 

men recreations of balls, masques, treats, cards, dice, 
&c. there are the like opportunities to promote the 
like evils. And yet farther ; how many quarrels, ani- 
mosities, nay murders too, as well as expense of estate 
and precious time, have been the immediate conse- 
quences of the like practices ? In short, these were the 
ways of the Gentiles that knew not God,^ but never 
the practice of them that feared him : nay, the more 
noble among the Heathens themselves, namely, An- 
axagoras, Socrates, Plato, Antisthenes, Heraclitus, 
Zeno, Aristides, Cato, Tully, Epictetus, Seneca, &c. 
have left their disgust to these things upon record, as 
odious and destructive, not only of the honour of the 
immortal God, but of all good order and government, 
as leading into looseness, idleness, ignorance and ef- 
feminacy, the great cankers, and bane of all states 
and empires. But such is the latitudinarian impu- 
dence of this age, that they canonize themselves for 
saints, if not guilty of every Newgate-filth, and ken- 
nel impiety. And the pretended innocency of these 
things steals away their minds from that which is 
better, into the love of them : nay, it gives them con- 
fidence to plead for them, and by no means will they 
think the contrary : but why ? because it is a liberty 
that feeds the flesh, and gratifies the lustful eye and 
palate of poor mortality : wherefore they think it a 
laudable condition to be no better than the beast that 
eats and drinks but what his nature doth require, al- 
though the number is very small of such. So very 
exorbitant are men and women grown in this present 
age : for either they do believe their actions are to be 
ruled by their own wills; or else, at best, that not to 

1 Eph. iv. 17 to 25. 



218 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

be stained with the vilest wickedness is matter of great 
boasting : and indeed it is so, in a time when nothing 
is too wicked to be done. But certainly, it is a sign 
of universal impiety, in a land, when not to be guilty 
of sins, the very Heathens loathe, is to be virtuous, 
yes, and Christian too, and that to no small degree of 
reputation ; a dismal symptom to a country ? But is it 
not to be greatly blinded, that those we call infidels 
should detest those practices as infamous, which people, 
that call themselves Christians, cannot or will not see 
to be such, but gild them over with the fair titles of 
ornaments, decency, recreation, and the like ? Well, 
my friends, if there were no God, no heaven, no hell, 
no holy examples, no Jesus Christ, in cross, doctrine 
and life to be conformed unto ; yet would charity to 
the poor, help to the needy, peace among neighbours, 
visits to the sick, care of the widow and fatherless,^ 
with the rest of those temporal good offices already 
repeated, be a nobler employment, and .much more 
worthy of your expense and pains. Nor indeed is it 
to be conceived, that the way to glory is smoothed 
with such variety of carnal pleasures ; for then con- 
viction, a wounded spirit, a broken heart, a regenerate 
mind, in a word, immortality would prove as mere 
fictions as some make them, and others therefore think 
them : no, these practices are for ever to be extin- 
guished, and expelled all Christian society. For I 
affirm, that to one who internally knows God, and 
hath a sense of his blessed presence, all such recrea- 
tions are death : yea, more dangerously evil, and more 
apt to steal away the mind from the heavenly exer- 
cise, than grosser impieties. For they are so big, 

1 Phil. iv. 6, 1, 8, 9. Job xxir. 12. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 219 

they are plainly seen ; so dirty, they are easily de- 
tected : which education and common temperance, as 
well as constitution in many, teach them to abhor ; 
and if they should be committed, they carry with 
them a proportional conviction. But these pretended 
innocents, these supposed harmless satisfactions, are 
more surprising, more destructive ; for as they easily 
gain an admission by the senses, so the more they pre- 
tend to innocency, the more they secure the minds of 
people in the common use of them ; till they J)ecome 
so insensible of their evil consequences, that with a 
mighty confidence they can plead for them.^ 

Sect. 10. But as this is plainly not to deny them- 
selves, but, on the contrary, to employ the vain in- 
ventions of carnal men and women to gratify the 
desire of the eye, the desire of the flesh, and the 
pride of life,^ all which exercise the mind below the 
divine and only true pleasure, or else, tell me what 
does : so, be it known to such, that the Heavenly life, 
and Christian joys are of another kind, as hath al- 
ready been expressed : nay, that the true disciples of 
the Lord Christ must be hereunto crucified, as to ob- 
jects and employments that attract downwards, and 
that their affections should be raised to a more sublime 
and spiritual conversation, as to use this world, even 
in its most innocent enjoyments, as if they used it 
not. But if they take pleasure in any thing below, 
it should be in such good offices as before-mentioned ; 
whereby a benefit may redound in some respect to 
others : in which God is honoured over all visible 

1 Prov. xviii. 14. Psal. li. 17. Mj'l. v. 4. Luke vi. 25. Rom. ii. (T. 
Psal. xl. 8. Prov. xiii. 21. Rom. r: \ Heb. xi. 13, 14, 15, 16. Rom. 
i. 25 to 39. Job i. 4. 

» 1 John ii. 15, 16, IT. 



220 

things, tlie nation relieved, the government bettered, 
themselves rendered exemplary of good, and thereby 
justly entitled to present happiness, a sweet memorial 
with posterity, as well as to a seat at his right hand, 
where there are joys and pleasures for ever : than 
which there can be nothing more honourable, nothing 
more certain, world without end.^ 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Sect. 1. Luxury should not be used by Christians, because of its incon- 
sistency with the Spirit of Christianity. 2. The cup of which Christ's 
true disciples drank. 3. ! who will drink of this cup ? 4. An ob- 
jection answered of the nature of God's kingdom, and what it stands 
in. 5. Of the frame of the spirit of Christ's followers. 

Sect 1. But the luxury opposed in this discourse, 
should not be allowed among Christians, because both 
that which invents it, delights in it, and pleads so 
strongly for it, is inconsistent with the true Spirit of 
Christianity ; nor doth the very nature of the Chris- 
tian religion admit thereof. For therefore was it that 
immortality .and eternal life were brought to light, 
that all the invented pleasures of mortal life, in which 
the world lives, might be denied and relinquished; and 
for this reason it is, that nothing less than immense 
rewards and eternal mansions are promised, that men 
and women might therefore be encouraged willingly 
to forsake the vanity and fleshly satisfactions of the 
world, and encounter with boldness the shame and 
sufferings they must expect to receive at the hand of, 
it may be, their nearest intimates and relations. 

For if the Christian religion had admitted the pos- 

1 Job xxxvi. 7. Psnl. v. 12. Psal. xxxvii. 25, 29. Prov. x. 7. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 221 

session of tliis world in any other sense, than the sim- 
ple and naked use of those creatures really given of 
God for the necessity and convenience of the whole 
creation : for instance, did it allow all that pride,, 
vanity, curiosity, pomp, exchange of apparel, honours, 
preferments, fashions, and the customary recreations 
of the world, with whatever may delight and gratify 
their senses ; then what need of a daily cross, a self- 
denying life, " working out salvation with fear and 
trembling," seeking the things that are above, -having 
the treasure and heart in heaven, no idle talking, no 
vain jesting, but fearing and meditating all the day 
long, undergoing all reproach, scorn, hard usage, 
bitter mockings and cruel deaths ? What need 
these things ? and why should they be expected in 
order to that glorious immortality and eternal crown, 
if the vanity, pride, expense, idleness, concupiscence, 
envy, malice, and whole manner of living among the 
(called) Christians, were allowed by the Christian re- 
ligion ? No certainly ; but as the Lord Jesus Christ 
well knew in what foolish trifles and vain pleasures, 
as well as grosser impieties, the minds of men and 
women were fixed, and bow much they were degene- 
rated from the heavenly principle of life, into a lust- 
ful or unlawful seeking after the enjoyments of this 
perishing world, nay, inventing daily new satisfactions 
to gratify their carnal appetites, so did he not less 
foresee the difficulty that all would have to relinquish 
and forsake them at his call, and with what great 
unwillingness they would take their leave of them, 
and be weaned from them. Wherefore to induce 

1 Luke xvi. 15. John xv. IT, 18, 19, ch. xvi. 20, cL, xvii. 15, 16, 
17. Heb. xi. 24, 25, 26, 27. Rom. viii. 19. 2 Tim. iii. 11, 12. Heb. 
xii. 1, 2. 



222 NO CROSS, ^:o CROvrN. 

them to it, he did not speak unto them in the language 
of the law, that they should have an earthly Canaan, 
great dignities, a numerous issue, a long life, and the 
like : no, rather the contrary, at least to take these 
things in their course ;^ hut he speaks to them in a 
higher strain, namely, He assures them of a kingdom 
and a croTyn that are immortal, that neither time, 
cruelty, death, grave or hell, with all its instruments, 
shall ever he able to disappoint, or take away, from 
those that should believe and obey him. Farther, 
that they should be taken into that near alliance of 
loving friends, yea, the intimate divine relation of 
dear brethren, and co-heirs with him of all celestial 
happiness, and a glorious immortality. Wherefore 
if it be recorded, that those who heard not Moses 
were to die, much more they who refuse to hear and 
obey the precepts of this Great and Eternal Rewarder 
of all that diligently seek and follow him.^ 

Sect. 2. And therefore it was that he was pleased 
to give us, in his own example, a taste of what his 
disciples must expect to drink deeply of, namely, the 
cup of self-denial, cruel trials, and most bitter afflic- 
tions: he came not to consecrate a way to the eternal 
rest through gold and silver, ribands, laces, poinds, 
perfumes, costly clothes, curious trims, exact dresses, 
rich jewels, pleasant recreations, plays, treats, balls, 
masques, revels, romances, love-songs, and the like 
pastimes of the world : no, no, alas ! but by forsak- 

Matt. xvi. 24. Luke ix. 23. Phil. ii. 12. Col. iii. 1, 2. Eph. v. 
4, 5. Neh. xlii. Psal. cxii. 1. Isa. xxviii. 14. Psal. cxix. 97. Luke 
xviii. 23. Heb. xi. 16, eh. x. 33, ch. xi. 37, 38. 

2 Luke vi. 20, ch. xii. 32, ch. xxii. 29. Col. i. 13. 1 Thess. ii. 12. 
Heb. xii. 28. Jam. ii. 5. John xv. 14, 15. Rom. viii. 17. Heb. ii. 11, 
ch. xii. 2. 1 Pet. ii. 21. Luke xii. 29 to 31. 2 Tim. r. 6. Matt. xix. 
27, 28, 29. Luke vi. 22. John xv. 10. 



ISO CROSS, NO CROWN. 223 

ing all such kind of entertainments, yea, and some- 
times more lawful enjoyments too ; and cheerfully 
underojoino; the loss of all on the one hand, and the 
reproach, ignominy, and the most cruel persecution 
from ungodly men on the other. He needed never to 
have wanted such variety of worldly pleasures, had 
they been suitable to the nature of his kingdom : for 
he was tempted, as are his followers, with no less bait 
than all the glories of the world :^ but he that com- 
manded to " seek another country, and to lay up 
treasures in the heavens that fade not away," and 
therefore charged them, never to be much inquisitive 
about what they should eat, drink, or put on, because 
(saith he) ^' after these things the Gentiles, that knew 
not God, do seek;" and Christians that pretend to 
know him too, " but, having food and raiment, there- 
with be content :" he, I say, that enjoined this doc- 
trine, and led that holy and heavenly example, even 
the Lord Jesus Christ, bade them, that would be his 
disciples, " take up the same cross, and follow him."^ 
Sect. 3. who will follow him? Who will be true 
Christians? we must not think to steer another course, 
nor to drink of another cup than hath the Captain of 
our salvation done before us :^ no ; for it is the very 
question he asked James and John the sons of Zebedee 
of old, when they desired to sit at his right and left 
hand in his kingdom, " Are ye able to drink of the 
cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the 
baptism that I am baptized withal?"'' otherwise no 
disciples, no Christians. Whoever they are that would 

1 Matt. X. 37, 38. Luke xii. 32, 33, 34, 35, 36. 

2 Matt. xvi. 19, 20, 31, 32, 33. 1 Tim. vi. 6, to 11. Matt. viii. 31 to 39. 
= Heb. ii. 10. * Matt. xx. 22, 23. 



224 

come to Christ, and be right Christians, must readily 
abandon every delight that would steal away the affec- 
tions of the mind, and exercise it from the divine 
principle of life, and freely write a bill of divorce for 
every beloved vanity ; and all, under the Sun of 
righteousness, is so, compared with him. 

Sect. 4. But some are ready to object, who will not 
seem to want scripture for their lusts, although it be 
evidently misapplied, " The kingdom of God stands 
not in meats, or in drinks, or in apparel," &c. An- 
swer, Right; therefore it is that we stand out of them. 
But surely, you have the least reason of any to object 
this to us, who make those things so necessary to con- 
versation, as our not conforming to them renders us 
obnoxious to your reproach ; which how Christian, or 
resembling it is of the righteousness, peace, and joy 
in which the heavenly kingdom stands, let the just 
principle in your own consciences determine. Our 
conversation stands in temperance, and that stands in 
righteousness, by which we have obtained that kingdom 
your latitude and excess have no share or interest in. 
If none therefore can be true disciples, but they that 
come to bear the daily cross, and that none bear the 
cross, but those who follow the example of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, through his baptism and afflictions and 
temptations ; and that none are so baptized with him, 
but those whose minds are retired from the vanities 
in which the generality of the world live, and become 
obedient to the holy light and divine grace, with which 
they have been enlightened from on high, and thereby 
are daily exercised to the crucifying of every contrary 
affection, and bringing of immortality to light ; if none 
are true disciples but such, as most undoubtedly they 



225 

are not, then let the people of these days a little 
soberly reflect upon themselves, and they will con- 
clude, that none who live and delight in these vain 
customs, and this un-christ-like conversation, can be 
true Christians, or disciples of the crucified Jesus :^ 
for otherwise, how would it be a cross ? or the Chris- 
tian life matter of difficulty and reproach ? No, the 
offence of the cross would soon cease, which is the 
power of God to them that believe ; that every lust 
and vanity may be subdued, and the creature brought 
into an holy subjection of mind to the heavenly will 
of its Creator.^ For therefore has it been said, that 
Jesus Christ was and is manifested, that by his holy, 
self-denying life and doctrine, he might put a bafSe 
upon the proud minds of men, and by the immortality 
he brought, and daily brings to light, he might stain 
the glory of their fading rests and pleasures f that 
having their minds weaned from them, and being cru- 
cified thereunto, they might seek another country, and 
obtain an everlasting inheritance : " for the things 
that are seen are temporal,"^ and those they were, and 
all true Christians are, to be redeemed from resting in; 
but the things that are "not seen, are eternal;" those 
they were, and all are to be, brought to, and have their 
afi"ections chiefly fixed upon.'' 

Sect. 5. Wherefore a true disciple of the Lord 
Jesus Christ is to have his mind so conversant about 
heavenly things, that the things of this world ma,y be 
used as if they were not : that having such things as 

1 Rom. vi. 3, 4, 5, 8. Phil. iii. 10. 1 Pet. iv. 13. Tit. ii. 11, 12, 13. 
John i. 9. Rom. vi. 6. Gal. ii. 20, ch. v. 24, ch. vi. 4. 2 Tim. i. 10. 
« Gal. V. 11. 1 Cor. i. 17, 18. ' ' Yer. 27, 28, 29. 

* Heb. iv. 1 to 12. « 2 Cor. iv. 1, 7, 8. 

15 



226 

are " necessary and convenient, he be therewith con- 
tent,"^ without the superfluity of the world, whereby 
the pleasure, that in times of ignorance was taken in 
the customs and fashions of the world, may more 
abundantly be supplied in the hidden and heavenly 
life of Jesus : for unless there be an abiding in Christ, 
it will be impossible to bring forth that much fruit 
which he requires at the hands of his followers, and 
wherein his Father is glorified. But as it is clear, 
that such as live in the vanities, pleasures, recreations, 
and lusts of the world, abide not in him, neither know 
him, for they that know him, depart from iniquity, so 
is their abiding and delighting in those bewitching 
follies, the very reason why they are so ignorant and 
insensible of him: ^' Him who continually stands 
knocking at the door of their hearts,"^ in whom they 
ought to abide, and whose divine power they should 
know to be the cross on which every beloved lust and 
alluring vanity should be slain and crucified ; that so 
they might feel the heavenly life to spring up in their 
hearts, and themselves to be quickened to seek the 
things that are above ; " that when Christ shall ap- 
pear, they might appear with him in glory, who is over 
all, God blessed for ever. Amen.""^ 

1 1 Tim. vi. 8. 2 Roin. v. 6, t, 8. Jolin xv. 8. Rev. iii. 20. 

'■* Col. iii. 1, 2, 3, 4. Rom. ix. 5. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 227 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Sect. 1. The customs, fashions, &c. -which make up the attire and plea- 
sure of the age, are enemies to inward retirement. 2. Their end is to 
gratify lust. 3. Had they been solid, Adam and Eve had not been 
happy, that never had them. 4. But the confidence and presumption 
of Christians, as they would be called, in the use of them, is abomi- 
nable. 5. Their authors farther condemn them, who are usually loose 
and vain people. 6. Mostly borrowed of the Gentiles, that knew not 
God, 7. An objection of their usefulness considered and answered, 
and the objectors reproved. 8. The best Heathens abhorring what 
pretended Christians plead for. 9. The use of these things encourages 
the authors and makers of them to continue in them. 10. The objec- 
tion of the maintenance of families answered. None must do evil, that 
good should follow : but better employs may be found more serviceable 
to the world. 11. Another objection answered : God no author of their 
inventions, and so not excusable by his institution. 12. People plead- 
ing for these vanities, shew what they are. An exhortation to be 
weighty and considerate. A great part of the way to true discipleship 
is, to abandon this school and shop of Satan. 

Sect. 1. Next, those customs and fashions, which 
make up the common attire and conversation of the 
times, do eminently ohstruct the inward retirement of 
people's minds, by which they may come to behold 
the glories of immortality : who instead of " fearing 
their Creator in the days of their youth, and seeking 
the kingdom of God in the first place/*^ expecting 
the addition of such other things as may be necessary 
and convenient, according to the injunctions of God, 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, as soon as they can do any 
thing, they look after pride, vanity, and that conver- 
sation which is most delightful to the flesh, which be- 
comes their most delightful entertainment : all which 
do but evidently beget lustful conceptions, and inflame 
to inordinate thoughts, wanton discourses, lascivious 
treats, if not at last to wicked actions. To such it is 
tedious and off'ensive to speak of heaven, or anoth^^r 

1 Eccl. xii. 1. Luke xii. 29, 30, 31. 



228 

life : bid them reflect upon their actions, not grieve 
the Holj Spirit, consider of an eternal doom, prepare 
for judgment ;^ and the best return that is usual, is 
reproachful jests, profane repartees, if not direct 
blows. Their thoughts are otherwise employed : their 
mornings are too short for them to wash, to smooth, 
to paint, to patch, to braid, to curl, to gum, to powder, 
and otherwise to attire and adorn themselves ; whilst 
their afternoons are as commonly bespoke for visits, 
and for plays ; where their usual entertainments are 
some stories fetched from the more approved ro- 
mances ; some strange adventures, some passionate 
amours, unkind refusals, grand impediments, impor- 
tunate addresses, miserable disappointments, wonder- 
ful surprises, unexpected encounters, castles surprised, 
imprisoned lovers rescued, and meetings of supposed 
dead ones ; bloody duels, languishing voices echoing 
from solitary groves, overheard mournful complaints, 
deep-fetched sighs sent from wild deserts, intrigues 
managed with unheard-of subtlety : and whilst all 
things seem at the greatest distance, then are people 
alive, enemies friends, despair turned to enjoyment, 
and all their impossibilities reconciled ; things that 
never were, are not, nor ever shall or can be, they all 
come to pass.^ And as if men and women were too 
slow to answer the loose suggestions of corrupt nature; 
or were too intent on more divine speculations and 
heavenly affairs, they have all that is possible for the 
most extravagant wits to invent, not only express lies, 
but utterly impossibilities to very nature, on purpose 

» Ecol. iv. 8. 2 Tim. ii. 16, 21, 22. Eph. iv. 30. Jer. xviii. 18, 19, 
20, ch. XX. 10. 

2 Tit. ii. 3. 4, 5. Eph. v. 3, 4. 1 Tim. iv. 2. 1 Tim. iv. 4. Psal. xii. 
2. Eccl. i. 11, 17, ch. vi. 9. Isa. v. 12, ch. xiv. 29, ch. lix. 3, 4. 



229 

to excite tlieir minds to those idle passions, and intoxi- 
cate their giddy fancies with swelling nothings, but 
airy fictions ; which not only consume their time, ef- 
feminate their natures, debase their reason, and set 
them on work to reduce these things to practice, and 
make each adventure theirs by imitation ; but if disap> 
pointed, as who can otherwise expect from such mere 
phantasms, the present remedy is latitude to the 
greatest vice. And yet these are some of their most 
innocent recreations, which are the very gins of Satan 
to insnare people ; contrived most agreeable to their 
weakness, and in a more insensible manner mastering 
their affections, by entertainments most taking to their 
senses. In such occasions it is that their hearts breed 
vanity, their eyes turn interpreters to their thoughts, 
and their looks do whisper the secret inflamma- 
tions of their intemperate minds ; wandering so long 
abroad, till their lascivious actings bring night home, 
and load their minds and reputations with lust and 
infamy.^ 

Sect. 2. Here is the end of all their fashions and 
recreations, " to gratify the lust of the eye, the lust 
of the flesh, and the pride of life :"^ clothes, that were 
given to cover shame, now want a covering for their 
shameful excess; and that which should remember 
men of lost innocency, they pride and glory in : but 
the hundredth part of these things cost man the loss 
of paradise, that now make up the agreeable recrea- 
tion, ay, the accomplishment of the times. For as it 
was Adam's fault to seek a satisfaction to himself, 
other than what God ordained ; so it is the exercise, 
pleasure and perfection of the age, to spend the great- 

1 Prov. vii. 10 to 21. 2 1 John ii. 15, 16. 



230 

est portion of their time in vanities, which is so far 
from the end of their creation, namely, a divine life, 
that the J are destructive of it.^ 

Sect. 3. Were the pleasures of the age true and 
solid, Adam and Eve had been miserable in their in- 
nocency, who knew them not: but as it was once their 
happiness not to know them in any degree, so it is 
theirs, that know Christ indeed, to be by his eternal 
power redeemed and raised to the love of immortality : 
which is yet a mystery to those who live and have 
pleasure in their curious trims, rich and changeable 
apparel, nicety of dress, invention and imitation of 
fashions, costly attire, mincing gaits, wanton looks, 
romances, plays, treats, balls, feasts, and the like con- 
versation in request : for as these had never been, if 
man had staid at home with his Creator, and given 
the entire exercise of his mind to the noble ends of his 
creation; so certain it is, that the use of these vanities 
is not only a sign that men and women are yet ig- 
norant of their true rest and pleasure, but it greatly 
obstructs and hinders the retirement of their minds, 
and their serious inquiry after those things that are 
eternal.^ 0, that there should be so much noise, 
clutter, invention, traffic, curiosity, diligence, pains and 
vast expense of time and estate, to please and gratify 
poor vain mortality ! and that the soul, the very image 
of divinity itself, should have so little of their consi- 
deration! What, what more pregnant instances and 
evident tokens can be given, that it is the body, the 
senses, the case, a little flesh and bone covered with 

1 Eccl. xii. 1. 

2 Eph. ii. 1 to 5. Col. ii. 13. 1 Pet. i. 11, 15, 16, 17, IS. Tit. ii. 11, 
12. Jam. V. 5. Matt. vii. 17, 18, 19. Rom. viii. 8. Matt. xvi. 26. 
1 Cor. xi. 13. Job xxxv. 15. Isa. xl. 6. 1 Pet. i. 24. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. ^231 

skin, the toys, fopperies, and very vanities of this 
mortal life and perishing world, that please, that take, 
that gain them ; on which they doat ; and think they 
never have too much time, love or money to bestow 
upon them. 

Sect. 4. Thus are their minds employed, and so 
vain are they in their imaginations, and dark in their 
understandings, that they not only believe them in- 
nocent, but persuade themselves they are good Chris- 
tians all this while, and to rebuke them is worse than 
heresy. Thus are they strangers to the hidden life; 
and by these things are they diverted from all serious 
examination of themselves ; and a little by-rote babble, 
with a forced zeal of half an hour's talk in other men's 
words, which they have nothing to do with, is made 
sufficient ; being no more their states, or at least their 
intention, as their works shew, than was it the young 
man's in the gospel, that said, "he would go, and did 
not."' But alas ! why? Oh, there are other guests ! 
What are they? Pharamond, Cleopatra, Cassandra, 
Clelia ; a play, a ball, a spring-garden ; the park, the 
gallant, the exchange ; in a word, the AYorld. These 
stay, these call, these are importunate, and these they 
attend, and these are their most familiar associates. 
Thus are their hearts captivated from the divine ex- 
ercise ; nay, from such external affairs as immediately 
concern some benefit to themselves, or needy neigh- 
bours ; pleasing themselves with the received ideas of 
those toys and fopperies into their loose and airy 
minds: and if in all things they cannot practise them, 
because they want the means of it, yet as much as 

1 Luke viii. M. Prov. i. 25, 30, ch. x. 17, ch. xii. 1, ch. xv. 15. 
Isa. Iviii. 1, 2 to 10. Jer. xvi. 19, 20, 21. 2 Tim. iii. 4. Matt. vi. 7. 



232 

may be, at least to doat upon them, be taken with 
them, and willingly suffer their thoughts to be hur- 
ried after them. AIL which greatly indisposes the 
mind?, and distracts the souls of people from the divine 
life and principle of the holy Jesus : but, as it hath 
been often said, more especially the minds of the 
younger sort, to whom the like divertisements, where 
their inclinations bting presented with what is very 
suitable to them, they become excited to more vanity, 
than ever they thought upon before, are incomparably 
dearer than all that can be said of God's fear, a retired 
life, eternal rewards, and joys unspeakable and full of 
glory : so vain, so blind, and so very insensible are 
men and women of what truly makes a disciple of 
Christ !^ ! that they would ponder on these things, 
and watch against, and out of all these vanities, for 
the coming of the Lord, lest being unprepared, and 
taken up with other guests, they enter not into his 
everlasting rest.^ 

Sect. 5. That which farther manifests the unlaw- 
fulness of these numerous fashions and recreations is, 
that they are either the inventions of vain, idle and 
wanton minds to gratify their own sensualities, and 
raise the like wicked curiosity in others to imitate the 
same ; by which nothing but lust and folly are pro- 
moted : or the contrivances of indigent and impover- 
ished wits, who make it the next way for their main- 
tenance, in both which respects, and upon both which 
considerations, they ought to be detested. For the 
first licenses express impiety ; and the latter counte- 
nances a wretched way of livelihood, and consequently 

» Isa. lix. 4. Jer. ii. 5. Eccl. xi. 10. 
^ Rom. xiii. 11, 12. Matt. xv. 7 to U. 



233 

diverts from more lawful, more serviceable, and more 
necessary employments. That such persons are both 
.the inventors and actors of all these follies, cannot be 
difficult to demonstrate : for were it possible, that any 
one could bring us father Adam's girdle, and mother 
Eve's apron, what laughing, what fleering, what mock- 
ing of their homely fashion would there be? surely 
their taylor would find but little custom, although we 
read, it was God himself " that made them coats of 
skins."^ The like may be asked of all the other vanities, 
concerning the holy men and women through all the 
generations of holy writ. How many pieces of riband, 
and what feathers, lace-bands, and the like, did Adam 
and Eve wear in paradise, or out of it ? What rich 
embroideries, silks, points, &c. had Abel, Enoch, 
Noah, and good old Abraham ? Did Eve, Sarah, Su- 
sannah, Elizabeth, and the Virgin Mary use to curl, 
powder, patch, paint, wear false locks, of strange 
colours, rich points, trimmings, laced gowns, embroi- 
dered petticoats, shoes with slipslaps laced with silk 
or silver lace, and ruflied like pigeons' feet, with 
several yards, if not pieces of ribands? How many 
plays did Jesus Christ and his apostles recreate them- 
selves at ? What poets, romances, comedies, and the 
like, did the apostles and saints make, or use to pass 
away their time withal ? I know they bid all " redeem 
their time, to avoid foolish talking, vain jesting, pro- 
fane babblings, and fabulous stories ; as what tend to 
ungodliness; and rather to watch, to work out their 
salvation with fear and trembling, to flee foolish and 
youthful lusts, and to follow righteousness, peace, 
goodness, love, charity; and to mind the things that 

1 Gen. iii. 21. 



234 

are above, as thej would have honour, glory, immor- 
tality and eternal life."^ 

Sect. 6. But if I were asked, Whence came they 
then ? I could quickly answer, From the Gentiles, that 
knew not God ; for some amongst them detested them, 
as will be shown ; they were the pleasures of an eifemi- 
nate Sardanapalus, a fantastic Miracles, a comical 
Aristophanes, a prodigal Charaxus, a luxurious Aris- 
tippus; and the practices of such women as tjie in- 
famous Clytemnestra, the painted Jezebel, the lasci- 
vious Campaspe, the immodest Posthumia, the costly 
Corinthian Lais, the most impudent Flora, the wanton 
Egyptian Cleopatra, and most insatiable Messalina : 
persons whose memories have stunk through all ages, 
and that carry with them a perpetual rot : these, and 
not the holy self-denying men and woipen, in ancient 
times, were devoted to the like recreations and vain 
delights. Nay, the more sober of the very Heathens 
themselves, and that upon a principle of great virtue, 
as is by all confessed, detested the like folly and 
wanton practices. There is none of them to be found 
in Plato, or in Seneca's works : Pythagoras, Socrates, 
Phocion, Zeno, &c. did not accustom themselves to 
these entertainments. The virtuous Penelope, the 
chaste Lucretia, the grave Cornelia, and modest Pontia, 
with many others, could find themselves employment 
enough amongst their children, servants and neigh- 
bours : they, though nobles, next their devotion, de- 
lighted most in spinning, weaving, gardening, needle- 
work, and such like good housewifery, and commend- 
able entertainment: who, though called Heathens, 

> Epb. V. 1, 2, 3, 4, 0, 15, 16. 2 Tim. ii. 16, 22. Matt. xxy. 13. Phil, 
ii. 12, 13. Col. iii. 1, 2, 3. Rom. ii. 6, 7. 



NO CROWN. 235 

expressed much more Christianity in all their actions, 
than do the wanton, foolish people of this age, who 
notwithstanding vi\\\ be called Christians. But above 
all, you play-mongers, whence think you came your 
so passionately beloved comedies? than which, as 
there is not any one diversion, that is more pernicious, 
so not one more in esteem and fondly frequented : 
"Why, I will tell you. Their great grand-father was 
an Heathen, and that not of the best sort : his name 
was Epicharmus. It is true, he is called a philosopher, 
or a lover of wisdom ; but he was only so by name, 
and no more one in reality than the comedians of these 
times are true Christians. It is reported of him by 
Suidas, a Greek historian, that he was the first man 
who invented comedies; and by the help of one Phor- 
mus, he made also fifty fables. But would you know 
his country, and the reason of his invention ? His 
country was Syracuse, the chief city in Sicily, famous 
for the infamy of many tyrants ; to please and gratify 
the lusts of some of whom, he set his wits to work. 
And do not you think this an ill original? and is it less 
in any one to imitate or justify the same, since the 
more sober Heathens have themselves condemned 
them? nay, is it not abominable, when such as call 
themselves Cliristians do both imitate and justify the 
like inventions ? Nor had the melancholy tragedies 
a better parentage, namely, one Thespis, an Athenian 
poet; to whom they also do ascribe the original of that 
impudent custom of painting faces, and the counterfeit 
or representation of other persons by change of habit, 
humours, &c. all which are now so much in use and 
reputation with the great ones of the times. To these 
let me add that poetical amoroso, whom an inordinate 



236 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

passion of love first transported to tliose poetical rap- 
tures of admiration, indeed sordid effeminacy, if not 
idolatry ; tbey call him Alcman, or Alcina, a Lydian ; 
he, being exceedingly in love with a young woman of 
his own country, is said to have been the first person 
that gave the world a sight of that kind of folly, 
namely, love-stories and verses, whix^h have been so 
diligently imitated by almost all nations ever since in 
their romances. 

Sect. 7. I know that some will say, But we have 
many comedies and tragedies, sonnets, catches, &c. 
that are on purpose to reprehend vice, from whence 
we, learn many commendable things. Though this be 
shameful, yet many have been wont, for want of shame 
or understanding, or both, to return me this for an- 
swer. Now I readily shall confess, that it was the 
next remedy amongst the Heathens, against the com- 
mon vices, to the more grave and moral lectures of 
their philosophers of which number I shall instance 
two : Euripides, whom Suidas calls a learned tragical 
poet, and Eupolis, whom the same historian calls a 
comical poet. The first was a man so chaste, and 
therefore so unlike those of our days, that he was 
called Miaoyvvrjy or one that hated women, that is, 
v/anton ones, for otherwise he was twice married : the 
other he characters as a most severe reprehender of 
faults. From which I gather, that their design was 
not to feed the idle, lazy fancies of people, nor merely 
to get money ; but since by the means of loose wits, 
the people had been debauched, their work was to re- 
claim them, rendering vice ridiculous, and turning wit 
against wickedness. And this appears the rather, 
from the description given, as also that Euripides was 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 237 

supposed to have been torn in pieces bj wanton 
women; which doubtless w^as for declaiming against 
their impudence : and the other being slain in tho 
battle betwixt the Athenians and Lacedemonians, was 
so regretted, that a law was made, that never after 
such poets should be allowed to bear arms : doubtless 
it was because in losing him, they lost a reprover of 
vice. So that the end of the approved comedians and 
tragedians of those times was but to reform the people, 
by making sin odious: and that not so much by a ra- 
tional and argumentative way, usual with their philoso- 
phers, as by sharp jeers, severe reflections, and render- 
ing their vicious actions shameful, ridiculous and 
detestable; so that for reputation sake, they might not 
longer be guilty of them : which to me is but a little 
softer than a whip-, or a Bridev^'ell. Now if you that 
plead for them, will be contented to be accounted Hea- 
thens, and those of the more dissolute and wicked sort 
too, that will sooner be jeered than argued out of your 
sins, we shall acknowledge to you, that such comedies 
and tragedies as these may be serviceable : but then 
for shame, abuse not the name of Jesus Christ so im- 
pudently, as to call yourselves Christians, whose lusts 
are so strong, that you are forced to use the low shifts 
of Heathens to repel them : to leave their evils not 
for the love of virtue, but out of fear, shame, or repu- 
tation. Is this your love to Jesus ? your reverence to 
the scriptures, that through faith are able to make the 
"man of God perfect?" Is all your prattle about 
ordinances, prayers, sacraments, Christianity, and the 
like come to this ; that at last you must betake your- 
selves to such instructors, as were by the sober Hea- 
thens permitted to reclaim the most vicious of the 



238 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

people that were amongst them ? and such remedies 
too, as below which there is nothing but corporal pun- 
ishment. 

Sect. 8. This is so far from Christianity, that many 
of the nobler Heathens, men and women, were better 
taught and better disposed ; they found out more hea- 
venly contemplations, and subjects of an eternal nature 
to meditate upon. ISTay, so far did they outstrip the 
Christians of these times, that they not only were ex- 
emplary by their grave and sober conversation, but, 
for the public benefit, the Athenians instituted the 
Gynaecosmi, or Twenty Men, who should make it 
their business to observe the people's apparel and be- 
haviour ; that if any were found immodest, and to 
demean themselves loosely, they had full authority to 
punish them. But the case is altered, it is punishable 
to reprove such : yes, it is matter of the greatest con- 
tumely and reproach. Nay, so impudent are some 
grown in their impieties, that they sport themselves 
with such religious persons, and not only manifest a 
great neglect of piety, and a severe life, by their own 
looseness, but their extreme contempt of it, by render- 
ing it ridiculous through comical and abusive jests on 
public stages. Which, how dangerous it is, and apt 
to make religion little worth in the people's eyes, be- 
side the demonstration of this age, let us remember, 
that Aristophanes had not a readier way to bring the 
reputation of Socrates in question with the people, who 
greatly reverenced him for his grave and virtuous life 
and doctrine, than by his abusive representations of 
him in a play : which made the airy, wanton, unstable 
crowd, rather part with Socrates in earnest, than So- 
crates in jest. Nor can a better reason be given why 



NO CROSS, XO CROWX. 239 

the poor Quakers are made so much the scorn of men, 
than because of their severe reprehensions of sin and 
vanity, and their self-denying conversation, amidst so 
great intemperance in all worldly satisfactions : yet 
can such libertines all this while strut, and swell for 
Christians, and stout it out against precept and ex- 
ample ; but we must be whimsical, conceited, morose, 
melancholy, or else heretics, deceivers, and what not? 
blindness ! pharisaical hypocrisy ! as if such were 
fit to be judges of religion, or that it were possible for 
them to have a sight and sense of true religion, or 
really to be religious, whilst darkened in their under- 
standings by the god of the pleasures of this world, 
and their minds so wrapped up in external enjoyments, 
and the variety of worldly delights : no ; in the name 
of the everlasting God, you mock him, and deceive 
your souls ; for the wrath of the Almighty is against 
you all, whilst in that spirit and condition : in vain 
are all your babbles and set performances, God laughs 
you to scorn ; his anger is kindling because of these 
things. Wherefore be ye warned to temperance, and 
repent. 

Sect. 9. Besides, this sort of people are not only 
wicked, loose and vain, who both invent and act these 
things ; but by your great delight in such vain in- 
ventions, you encourage them therein, and hinder 
them from more honest and more serviceable employ- 
ments. For what is the reason that most commodities 
are held at such excessive rates, but because labour is 
so very dear ? And why is it so, but because so many 
hands are otherwise bestowed, even about the very 
vanity of all vanities? Nay, how common is it with 
these mercenary procurers to people's folly, that when 



240 

their purses begin to grow low, they shall present them 
with a new, and pretendedly more convenient fashion; 
and that perhaps, before the former costly habits shall 
have done half their service : which either must be 
given away, or new vampt in the cut most alamode. 

prodigal, yet frequent folly ? 

Sect. 10. I know I am coming to encounter the 
most plausible objection they are used to urge, when 
driven to a pinch, viz. " But how shall those many 
families subsist, whose livelihood depends upon such 
fashions and recreations as you so earnestly decry ?" 

1 answer ; It is a bad argument to plead for the com- 
mission of the least evil, that never so great a good 
may come of it : if you and they have made wicked- 
ness your pleasure and your profit, be ye content that 
it should be your grief and punishment, till the one 
can learn to be without such vanity, and the others 
have found out more honest employments. It is the 
vanity of the few great ones that makes so much toil 
for the many small ; and the great excess of the one 
occasions the great labour of the other. YVould men 
learn to be contented with few things, such as are ne- 
cessary and convenient, the ancient Christian life, all 
things might be at a cheaper rate, and men might live 
for little. If the landlords had less lusts to satisfy, 
the tenants might have less rent to pay, and turn from 
poor to rich, whereby they might be able to find more 
honest and domestic employments for children, than 
becoming sharpers, and living by their ^wits, which is 
but a better word for their sins. And if the report of 
the more intelligent in husbandry be credible, lands 
are generally improveable ten in twenty: and were 
there more hands about more lawful and serviceable 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 241 

manufactures, they would be cheaper, and greater vent 
might be made of them, by which a benefit would re- 
dound to the world in general : nay, the burden lies 
the heavier upon the laborious country, that so many 
hands and shoulders, as have the lust-caterers of the 
cities, should be wanting to the plough and useful hus- 
bandry. If men never think themselves rich enough, 
they may never miss of trouble and employment ; but 
those who can take the primitive state and God's crea- 
tion for their model, may learn with a little to be con- 
tented ; as knowing that desires after wealth do not 
only prevent or destroy true faith, but when got, in- 
crease snares and trouble. It is no evil to repent of 
evil ; but that cannot be, whilst men maintain what 
they should repent of: it is a bad argument to avoid 
temperance, or justify the contrary, because otherwise 
the actors and inventors of excess would want a live- 
lihood ; since to feed them that way is to nurse the 
cause, instead of starving it. Let such of those vanity- 
hucksters as have got sufficient be contented to retreat, 
and spend it more honestly than they have got it ; 
and such as really are poor, be rather helped by 
charity to better callings : this were more prudent, 
nay, Christian, than to consume money upon such 
foolish toys and fopperies. Public workhouses would 
be effectual remedies to all these lazy and lustful dis- 
tempers, with more profit, and a better conscience. 
Therefore it is that we cannot, we dare not square our 
conversation by the world's : no, but by our plainness 
and moderation to testify against such extravagant 
vanities ; and by our grave and steady life to mani- 
fest our dislike, on God's behalf, to such intemperate 
and wanton curiosity; yea, to deny ourselves what 
16 



242 

otherwise perhaps we lawfully could use with a just 
indifferency, if not satisfaction, because of that abuse 
that is amongst the generality. 

Sect. 11. I know, that some are ready farther to 
object ; " Hath God given us these enjoyments on 
purpose to damn us if we use them ?" Answer. But 
to such miserable, poor, silly souls, who would rather 
charge the most high and holy God with the invention 
or creation of their dirty vanities, than want a plea to 
justify their own practice, not knowing how for shame, 
or fear, or love, to throw them off; I answer, that 
what God made for man's use was good ; and what 
the blessed Lord Jesus Christ allowed, or enjoined, or 
gave us in his most heavenly example, is to be ob- 
served, believed, and practised. But in the whole 
catalogue the scriptures give of both, I never found 
the attires, recreations and way of living, so much in 
request with the generality of the Christians of these 
times :^ no certainly. God created man an holy, wise, 
sober, grave, and reasonable creature, fit to govern 
himself and the world ; but Divinity was then the 
great object of his reason and pleasure ; all external 
enjoyments of God's giving being for necessity, con- 
venience, and lawful delight, with this proviso too, 
that the Almighty was to be seen, and sensibly en- 
joyed and reverenced, in every one of them. But 
how very wide the Christians of these times are from 
this primitive institution is not difficult to determine, 
although they make such loud pretensions to that 
most holy Jesus, who not only gave the world a cer- 
tain evidence of an happy restoration, by his own 
coming, but promised his assistance to all that would 

1 Luko viii. 14, ch. xii. 28, 29 to 31. 



243 

follow him in the self-denial and way of his holy cross ; 
and therefore hath so severely enjoined no less on all, 
as they would be everlastingly saved.' But whether 
the minds of men and women are not as profoundly 
involved in all excess and vanity, as those who know 
him not any farther than by hear-say ; and whether 
being thus banished the presence of the Lord, by 
their greedy seeking the things that are below, and 
thereby having lost the taste of divine pleasure, they 
have not feigned to themselves an imaginary pleasure, 
to quiet or smother conscience, and pass their time 
without that anguish and trouble, which are the con- 
sequences of sin, that so they might be at ease and 
security while in the world ; let their own consciences 
declare. Adam's temptation is represented by the 
fruit of a tree ; thereby intimating the great influence 
external objects, as they exceed in beauty, carry with 
them upon our senses : so that unless the mind keep 
upon its constant watch, so prevalent are visible 
things, that hard it is for one to escape being en- 
snared in them ; and he shall need to be only some- 
times entrapped, to cast so thick a veil of darkness 
over the mind, that not only it shall with pleasure 
continue in its fetters to lust and vanity, but proudly 
censure such as refuse to wear them, strongly plead- 
ing for them, as serviceable and convenient.^ That 
strange passion do perishing objects raise in those 
minds, where way is made, and entertainment given 
to them. But Christ Jesus is manifested in us, and 
hath given unto us a taste and understanding of 
him that is true ; and to all, such a proportion of his 

1 John viii. 12, cli. xv. 6, 7, 8, ch. xvii. 20. 

i Rom. ii. 8. Gen. iii. 6. Mark xiii. 33, 34, 35, 36, 37. 



244 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

good Spirit, as is sufficient, would they obey it, to 
redeem their minds from that captivity they have 
been in to lust and vanity, and entirely ransom them 
from the dominion of all visible objects, and whatso- 
ever may gratify the desires of the eye, the lust of 
the flesh, and the pride of life, that they might be 
regenerated in their minds, changed in their affections, 
and have their whole hearts set on things that are 
above, where moth nor rust can never pass, or enter 
to harm or destroy.^ 

Sect. 12. But it is a manifest sign, of what mould 
and make those persons are, who practise and plead 
for such Egyptian shameful rags, as pleasures. It is 
to be hoped that they never knew, or to be feared 
they have forgot, the humble, plain, meek, holy, self- 
denying, and exemplary life, which the Eternal Spirit 
sanctifies all obedient hearts into ; yea, it is indubita- 
ble, that either such always have been ignorant, or 
else that they have lost sight, of that good land, that 
heavenly country and blessed inheritance, they once 
had some glimmering prospect of.^ that they would 
but withdraw a while, sit down, weigh and consider 
with themselves, where they are, and whose work and 
will they are doing ! that they would once believe, 
the devil hath not a stratagem more pernicious to their 
immortal souls, than this of exercising their minds in 
the foolish fashions and wanton recreations of the 
times ! Great and gross impieties beget a detestation 
in the opinion of sober education and reputation; and 
therefore since the devil rightly sees such things have 
no success with many, it is his next and fatalest design 

1 1 John V. 20. 1 Thess. v. 23. 

2 Gal. V. 22, 23, 24, 25. Eph. v. 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16. 



NO CKOSS, NO CROWN. 245 

to find some other entertainments, that carry less of 
infection in their looks, though more of security, be- 
cause less of scandal and more of pleasure in their 
enjoyment, on purpose to busy and arrest people from 
a diligent search and inquiry after those matters which 
necessarily concern their eternal peace:* that being 
ignorant of the heavenly life, they may not be induced 
to press after it ; but, being only formally religious, 
according to the traditions and precepts of others, 
proceed to their common pleasures, and find no check 
therefrom, their religion and conversation for the most 
part agreeing well together, whereby an improvement 
in the knowledge of God, a going on from grace to 
grace, a growing to the measure of the stature of 
Jesus Christ himself is not known : but as it was in 
the beginning at seven, so it is at seventy ; nay, not 
so innocent, unless by reason of the old saying. Old 
men are twice children. Oh ! the mystery of godli- 
ness, the heavenly life, the true Christian, are another 
thing !^ Wherefore we conclude, that as the design 
of the devil, where he cannot involve and draw into 
gross sin, is to busy, delight, and allure the minds of 
men and women by more seeming innocent entertain- 
ments, on purpose that he may more easily secure 
them from minding their duty and progress and obe- 
dience to the only true God, which is eternal life ; 
and thereby take up their minds from heavenly and 
eternal things : so those who would be delivered from 
these snares should mind the holy, just, grave, and 
self-denying teachings of God's Grace and Spirit in 
themselves, that they may reject and for ever abandon 
the like vanity and evil ; and, by a reformed conversa- 

1 Eph. vi. 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Epb. i. 16 to 23, ch. iv. 12, 13. 



246 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

tion, condemn the world of its intemperance : so will 
the true discipleship be obtained ; for otherwise many 
enormous consequences, and pernicious effects will 
follow. It is to encourage such impious persons to 
continue and proceed in the like trades of feeding the 
people's lusts, and thereby such make themselves par- 
takers of their plagues, who, by continual fresh de- 
sires to the like curiosities, and that way of spending 
'time and estate, induce them to spend more time in 
studying how to "abuse time;"^ lest, through their 
pinching and small allowance, those prodigals should 
call their Father's house to mind : for, whatsoever 
any think, more pleasant baits, alluring objects, grate- 
ful entertainments, cunning emissaries, acceptable 
sermons, insinuating lectures, taking orators, the 
crafty devil has not ever had, by which to entice and 
ensnare the minds of people, and totally to divert 
them from heavenly reflections, and divine meditations, 
than the attire, sports, plays, and pastimes of this 
godless age, the school and shop of Satan, hitherto so 
reasonably condemned 

1 John xvii. 3. Rom. i. 11. Tit. ii. 11, 12, 13, 14. 



247 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Sect. 1. But if these cu?toms, &c. were but indifferent, yet being abu?ed, 
they deserve to be rejected. 2. The abuse is acknowledged by th"se 
that use them, therefore should leave them. 3. Such as pretend to 
seriousness, should exeraplarily withdraw from such latitudes : a wise 
parent weans his child of what it doats too much upon; and we should 
watch over ourselves and neighbours. 4. God, in the case of the 
brazen serpent, &c. gives us an example to put away the use of abused 
things. 5. If these things were sometimes convenient, j'et when their 
, use is prejudicial in example, they should be disused. 6. Such as yet 
proceed to love their unlawful pleasures more than Christ and his cross, 
the mischief they have brought to persons and estates, bodies and souls. 
7. Ingenuous people know this to be true : an appeal to God's Wit- 
ness in the guilty : their state that of Babylon. 8. But temperance 
in food, and plainness in apparel, and sober conversation, conduce 
most to good : so the apostle teaches in his epistles. 9. Temperance 
enriches a land : it is a political good, as well as a religious one in all 
governments. 10. When people have done their duty to God, it will 
be time enough to think of pleasing themselves. 11. An address to 
the magistrates, and all people, how to convert their time and money 
to better purposes. 

Sect. 1. But should these things be as indifferent, 
as thej are proved perniciously unlawful, for I never 
heard any advance their plea beyond the bounds of 
mere indifferency, yet so great is their abuse, so uni- 
versal the sad effects thereof, like to an infection, 
that they therefore ought to be rejected of all, espe- 
cially those, whose sobriety hath preserved them on 
this side of that excess, or whose judgments, though 
themselves be guilty, suggest the folly of such intem- 
perance. For what is an indifferent thing, but that 
which may be done, or left undone ? Granting, I 
say this were the case, yet doth both reason and re- 
ligion teach, that when they are used with such an 
excess of appetite, as to leave them, would be a cross 
to their desires, they have exceeded the bounds of 
mere indifferency, and are thereby rendered no less 
than necessary. Which being a violation of the very 



248 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

nature of the things themselves, a perfect abuse 
enters ; and consequently they are no longer to be 
considered in the rank of things simply indifierent, 
but unlawful. 

Sect. 2. Now that the whole exchange of things 
against which I have so earnestly contended, are 
generally abused by the excess of almost all ages, 
sexes, and qualities of people, will be confessed by 
many, who yet decline not to conform themselves to 
them ; and to whom, as I have understood, it only 
seems lawful, because, say they, the abuse of others 
should be no argument why we should not use them. 
But to such I answer, that they have quite forgot, or 
will not remember, they have acknowledged these 
things to be but of an indifferent nature : if so, and 
vanity never urged more, I say, there can be nothing 
more clear, than since they acknowledged their great 
abuse, that they are wholly to be forsaken : for since 
they may as well be let alone as done at any time, 
surely they should then of duty be let alone, when 
the use of them is an abetting the general excess, and 
a mere exciting others to continue in their abuse, be- 
cause they find persons reputed sober to imitate them, 
or otherwise give them an example :^ precepts are not 
half so forcible as examples. 

Sect. 3. Every one that pretends to seriousness 
ought to inspect himself, as having been too forward 
to help on the excess, and can never make too much 
haste out of those inconveniences, that by his former 
example he encouraged any to; that by a new one he 
may put a seasonable check upon the intemperance of 
others.^ A wise parent ever withdraws those objects, 

^ Phil. iii. 17. 2 Rom. xiv. to the end. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 249 

however innocent in themselves, which are too prevalent 
upon the weak senses of his children, on purpose that 
they might be weaned. And it is as frequent with men 
to bend a crooked stick as much the contrary way, that 
they might make it straight at last. Those that have 
more sobriety than others should not forget their 
stewardships, but exercise that gift of God to the se- 
curity of their neighbours. It was murdering Cain 
that rudely asked the Lord, "Was he his brother's 
keeper ?"^ for every man is necessarily obliged 
thereto ; and therefore should be so wise, as to deny 
himself the use of such indifferent enjoyments, as can- 
not be used by him without too manifest an encour- 
agement to his neighbour's folly. 

Sect. 4. God hath sufiSciently excited men to what 
is said; for in the case of the brazen serpent, which 
was an heavenly institution and type of Christ, he 
with great displeasure enjoined it should be broke to 
pieces, because they were too fond and doating upon 
it.^ Yes, the very groves themselves, however pleasant 
for situation, beautiful for their walks and trees, must 
be cut down; and why ? only because they had been 
abused to idolatrous uses. And what is an idol, but 
that which the mind puts an over-estimate or value 
upon ? None can benefit themselves so much by an 
indifferent thing, as others by not using that abused 
liberty. 

Sect. 5. If those things were convenient in them- 
selves, which is a step nearer necessity than mere in- 
differency, yet when by circumstances they become 
prejudicial, such conveniency itself ought to be given 
up ; much more what is but indifferent should be 

' Gen. iy. 9. 2 2 Kings xviii. 3, 4. 



250 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

denied. People ought not to weigh their private 
satisfactions more than a public good ; nor please 
themselves in too free an use of indifferent things, at 
the cost of being so really prejudicial to the public, 
as they certainly are, whose use of them, if no worse, 
becomes exemplary to others, and begets an impatiency 
in their minds to have the like.^ Wherefore it is both 
reasonable and incumbent on all, to make only 
such things necessary, as tend to life and godliness, 
and to employ their freedom with most advantage to 
their neighbours.^ So that here is a two-fold obliga- 
tion ; the one, not to be exemplary in the use of such 
things; which, though they may use them, yet not 
without giving too much countenance to the abuse and 
excessive vanity of their neighbours. The other obli- 
gation is, that they ought so far to condescend to such 
religious people who are offended at these fashions, 
and that kind of conversation, as to reject them.^ 

Sect. 6. Now those, who notwithstanding what I 
have urged will yet proceed ; what is it, but that they 
have so involved themselves and their affections in 
them, that it is hardly possible to reform them ; and 
that, for all their many protestations against their 
fondness to such fopperies, they really love them more 
than Christ and his cross ? Such cannot seek the good 
of others, who do so little respect their own. For, 
after a serious consideration, what vanity, pride, idle- 
ness, expense of time and estates, have been, and yet 
are ? how many persons debauched from their first 
sobriety, and women from their natural sweetness and 
innocency, to loose, airy, wanton, and many times 
more enormous practices? how many plentiful estates 

» Psal. X. 3, 4. 2 2 Pet. i. 3. Eph. v. T. * Rom. xiv. 1, to the end. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 251 

have been over-run by numerous debts, chastity en- 
snared by accursed lustful intrigues ? youthful health 
overtaken by the hasty seizure of unnatural distempers, 
and the remaining days of such spent upon a rack 
of their vices procuring, and so made slaves to the 
unmerciful but necessary effects of their own inordi- 
nate pleasures ? in which agony they vow the greatest 
temperance : but are no sooner out of it, than in their 
vice again. ^ 

Sect. 7. That these things are the case, and almost 
innumerable more, I am persuaded no ingenuous per- 
son of any experience will deny ; how then, upon a 
serious reflection, any that pretend conscience, or the 
fear of God Almighty, can longer continue in the 
garb, livery, and conversation of those whose whole 
life tends to little else than what I have repeated, 
much less join with them in their abominable excess,^ 
I leave to the Just Principle in themselves to judge. 
No surely ! this is not to obey the voice of God, who 
in all ages did loudly cry to all, " Come out, of what ? 
of the ways, fashions, converse and spirit of Baby- 
lon ?" What is that? the great city of all these vain," 
foolish, wanton, superfluous, and wicked practices, 
against which the scriptures denounce most dreadful 
judgments ; ascribing all the intemperance of men 
and women to the cup of wickedness she hath given 
them to drink ; whose are the things indifferent, if 
they must be so.^ And for witness, hear what the 
revelations say in her description : '' How much she 
hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much 

^ Lam. iv. 5. Prov. xxi. 17. Job xxi. 13, 14. Psal. Iv. 23. Psal. xxxvii. 
10. Eccl. viii. 12. Psal. xxxvii. 1, 2. Prov. ii. 22. 
2 Jer. xvi. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. 
' Jsa. iii. 13 to 16. Jer. 1. 8, ch. xr. 6, 7. Amos ri. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 



252 

torment and sorrow give her. And the kings of the 
earth, who have lived deliciously with her, shall be- 
wail and lament her ; and the merchants of the earth 
shall weep over her ; for no man buyeth their mer- 
chandise any more : the merchandise of gold and silver, 
and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, 
and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all manner of 
vessels of ivory, and all manner of vessels of most 
precious wood ; and cinnamon, and odours, and oint- 
ments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine 
flour, and beasts, and slaves, and souls of men.''^ 
Behold the character and judgment of luxury • and 
though I know it hath a farther signification than 
what is literal, yet there is enough to show the pomp, 
plenty, fulness, idleness, ease, wantonness, vanity, 
lust and excess of luxury that reign in her. But at 
the terrible day who will go to her exchange any 
-more ? who to her plays ? who will follow her fashions 
then ? and who shall traffic in her delicate inventions ? 
Not one ; for he shall be judged. No plea shall ex- 
cuse, or rescue her from the wrath of the judge ; for 
strong is the Lord who will perform it.^ If yet these 
reasonable pleas will not prevail, however I shall cau- 
tion such, in the repetition of part of Babylon's mise- 
rable doom: Mind, my friends, more heavenly things ; 
hasten to obey that Righteous Principle, which would 
exercise and delight you in that which is eternal ; or 
else with Babylon, the mother of lust and vanity, the 
fruits which your souls lust after shall depart from 
you, and all things which are dainty and goodly shall 
depart from you, and you shall find them no more !^ 
Dives ! no more ! Lay your treasures therefore up in 

1 Rev. xviii. 7, 8, 12, 13. ^ j^^.^, ^yj^j, s. " Vcr. 14. 



253 

heaven, ye inhabitants of the earth, where nothing 
can break through to harm them ; but where time 
shall shortly be swallowed up of eternity !^ 

Sect. 8. But my arguments against these things 
end not here ; for the contrary most of all conduces 
to good, namely, '' temperance in food, plainness in 
apparel ; with a meek, shame-faced, and quiet spirit, 
and that conversation which doth only express the 
same in all godly honesty:" as the apostle saith, " Let 
no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, 
but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it 
may administer grace to the hearers ; neither filthi- 
ness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, but rather giving 
of thanks : for let no man deceive you with vain 
words, because of these things cometh the wrath of 
God upon the children of disobedience."^ And if 
men and women were but thus adorned, after this 
truly Christian manner, impudence would soon receive 
a check, and lust, pride, vanity, and wantonness, find 
a rebuke. They would not be able to attempt such 
universal chastity, or encounter such godly austerity : 
virtue would be in credit, and vice afraid and ashamed, 
and excess not dare to shew its face. There would 
be an end of gluttony, and gaudiness of apparel, flat- 
tering titles, and a luxurious life ; and then primitive 
innocency and plainness would come back again, and 
that plain-he'arted downright harmless life would be 
restored, of not much caring what we should eat, 
drink, or put on^ as Christ tells us the Gentiles did, 

1 Euke xii. 33, 34. 

2 Col. iv. 5, 6. 1 Thess. iv. 11, 12. 1 Pet. iii. 1, 2, 3, 4. Eph. iv. 29, 
and V. 3, 4, 5, 6. 1 Tim. iv. 12. Phil. iii. ]6 to 20. 1 Pet. ii. 12. Prov. 
xxxi. 23 to 31. 2 Chr. xiii. 7. Prov. xxiv. 23. James ii. 2 to 9. Luke xii. 
22, 30. 1 Tim, \v. 2 Pet. iii. 11. Psal. xxvi. 6. 



254 

and as we know this age daily does, under all its talk 
of religion : but as the ancients, who w^ith moderate 
care for necessaries and conveniences of life, dev^oted 
themselves to the concernments of a celestial king- 
dom, more minded their improvement in righteousness, 
than their increase in riches ; for they laid their trea- 
sure up in heaven, and endured tribulation for an in- 
heritance that cannot be taken away.-^ 

Sect. 9. But the temperance I plead for, is not 
only religiously, but politically good : it is the interest 
of good government to curb and rebuke excesses : it 
prevents many mischiefs ; luxury brings effeminacy, 
laziness, poverty, and misery ; but temperance pre- 
serves the iand.^ It keeps out foreign vanities, and 
improves our own commodities : now we are their 
debtors, then they would be debtors to us for our 
native manufactures. By this means, such persons, 
who by their excess, not charity, have deeply engaged 
their estates, may in a short space be enabled to clear 
them from those incumbrances, which otherwise, like 
moths, soon eat out plentiful revenues.^ It helps 
persons of mean substance to improve their small 
stocks, that they may not expend their dear earnings 
and hard-got wages upon superfluous apparel, foolish 
may-games, plays, dancing, shews, taverns, ale-houses, 
and the like folly and intemperance ; with which this 
land is more infested, and by which it' is rendered 
more ridiculous, than any kingdom in the world ; for 
none I know of is so infested with cheating mounte- 
banks,* savage morrice-dancers, pick-pockets, and pro- 
fane players, and stagers ; to the slight of religion, 
the shame of government, and the great idleness, ex- 

» Matt. XXV. 21. 2 Pjov. x. 4. « Eccl. x. 16, 17, 18. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 255 

pense, and debauchery of the people : for which the 
spirit of the Lord is grieved, and the judgments of the 
Almighty are at the door, and the sentence ready to 
be pronounced, "Let him that is unjust, be unjust 
still. "^ Wherefore it is, that we cannot but loudly 
call upon the generality of the times, and testify both 
by our life and doctrine, against the like vanities and 
abuses, if possible" any may be weaned from their folly, 
and choose the good old path of temperance, wisdom, 
gravity, and holiness, the only way to inherit the bless- 
ings of peace and plenty here, and eternal hapg^iness 
hereafter.^ 

Sect. 10. Lastly, supposing we had none of these 
foregoing reasons justly to reprove the practice of the 
land in these particulars ; however, let it be sufficient 
for us to say, that when people have first learned to 
fear, worship, and obey their Creator, to pay their 
numerous vicious debts, to alleviate and abate their 
oppressed tenants ; but above all outward regards, 
when the pale faces are more commiserated, the pinch- 
ed bellies relieved, and naked backs clothed ; when 
the famished poor, the distressed widow, and helpless 
orphan, God's works, and your fellow creatures, are 
provided for ! then I say, if then, it will be time 
enough for you to plead the indifferency of your 
pleasures. But that the sweat and tedious labour of 
the husbandmen, early and late, cold and hot, wet and 
dry, should be converted into the pleasure, ease, and 
pastime of a small number of men ; that the cart, the 
plough, the thresh, should be in that continual severity 
laid upon nineteen parts of the land to feed the inor- 
dinate lusts and delicious appetites of the twentieth, 

1 Rev. xxii. 11. 2 Prov. xxi. 4, 29. 



256 

is so far from the appointment of the great Governor 
of the world, and God of the spirits of all flesh, that 
to imagine such horrible injustice as the effects of his 
determinations, and not the intemperance of men, 
were wretched and blasphemous. As on the other 
side, it would be to deserve no pit j, no help, no relief 
from God Almighty, for people to continue that ex- 
pense in vanity and pleasure, whilst the great neces- 
sities of such objects go unanswered : especially since 
God hath made the sons of men but stewards to each 
other's- exigencies and relief. Yea, so strict is it en- 
joined, that on the omission of these things, we find 
this dreadful sentence partly to be grounded, " Depart 
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire," &c. As 
on the contrary, to visit the sick, see the imprisoned, 
relieve the needy, &c. are such excellent properties 
in Christ's account, that thereupon he will pronounce 
such blessed, saying, " Come, ye blessed of my Father, 
inherit the kingdom prepared for you," &c. So that 
the great are not, with the Leviathan in the deep, to 
prey upon the small, much less to make a sport of the 
lives and labours of the lesser ones, to gratify their 
inordinate senses.^ 

Sect. 11. I therefore humbly offer an address to 
the serious consideration of the civil magistrate. That 
if the money which is expended in every parish in 
such vain fashions, as wearing of laces, jewels, em- 
broideries, unnecessary ribands, trimming, costly fur- 

1 Eccl. xii. 1. Psal. xxxvii. 21. Psal. x. 2. Psal. iv. 2. Psal. 
Ixxix. 12. Psal. Ixxxii. 3, 4. Prov. xxii. 7. Isa. iii. 14, 15. Ezek. 
xxii. 29. Amos v. 11, 12, ch. viii. 4, 7, 8. Isa. i. 16, 17, 18. Jer. vii . 6. 
Rom. xii. 20. 2 Cor. ix. 7. Psal. xl. 4. Acts x. 34. Rom. ii. 11. 
Eph. vi. 9. Col. iii. 25. 1 Pet. i. 17. Jam. v. 4, 5. Psal. xii. 1. 
Matt. xxr. 34, 35, 36. Jam. ii. 15, 16. Psal. cxii. 9. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 225 

are not, then let the people of these days a little 
soberly reflect upon themselves, and they will con- 
clude, that none who live and delight in these vain 
customs, and this un-christ-like conversation, can he 
true Christians, or disciples of the crucified Jesus :^ 
for otherwise, how would it be a cross ? or the Chris- 
tian life matter of difficulty and reproach ? No, the 
offence of the cross would soon cease, which is the 
power of God to them that believe ; that every lust 
and vanity may be subdued, and the creature brought 
into an holy subjection of mind to the heavenly will 
of its Creator.^ For therefore has it been said, that 
Jesus Christ was and is manifested, that by his holy, 
self-denying life and doctrine, he might put a baffle 
upon the proud minds of men, and by the immortality 
he brought, and daily brings to light, he might stain 
the glory of their fading rests and pleasures f that 
having their minds weaned from them, and being cru- 
cified thereunto, they might seek another country, and 
obtain an everlasting inheritance : " for the things 
that are seen are temporal,"'' and those they were, and 
all true Christians are, to be redeemed from resting in; 
but the things that are "not seen, are eternal;" those 
they were, and all are to be, brought to, and have their 
afiections chiefly fixed upon.'' 

Sect. 5. Wherefore a true disciple of the Lord 
Jesus Christ is to have his mind so conversant about 
heavenly things, that the things of this world may be 
used as if they were not : that having such things as 

1 Rom. vi. 3, 4, 5, G. Phil. iii. 10. 1 Pet. iv. 13. Tit. ii. 11, 12, 13. 
John i. 9. Rom. vi. 6. Gal. ii. 20, ch. v, 24, ch. vi. 4. 2 Tim. i. 10. 
a Gal. V. 11. 1 Cor. i. 17, 18. » Ver. 27, 28, 29. 

« Heb. iv. 1 to 12. * 2 Cor. iv. 1, 7, 8. 

15 



226 

are " necessary and convenient, he be therewith con- 
tent,"^ without the superfluity of the world, whereby 
the pleasure, that in times of ignorance was taken in 
the customs and fashions of the world, may more 
abundantly be supplied in the hidden and heavenly 
life of Jesus ; for unless there be an abiding in Christ, 
it will be impossible to bring forth that much fruit 
which he requires at the hands of his followers, and 
wherein his Father is glorified. But as it is clear, 
that such as live in the vanities, pleasures, recreations, 
and, lusts of the world, abide not in him, neither know 
him, for they that know him, depart from iniquity, so 
is their abiding and delighting in those bewitching 
follies, the very reason why they are so ignorant and 
insensible of him: "Him who continually stands 
knocking at the door of their hearts,"^ in whom they 
ought to abide, and whose divine power they should 
know to be the cross on which every beloved lust and 
alluring vanity should be slain and crucified ; that so 
they might feel the heavenly life to spring up in their 
hearts, and themselves to be quickened to seek the 
things that are above ; " that when Christ shall ap- 
pear, they might appear with him in glory, who is over 
all, God blessed for ever. Amen."^ 

1 1 Tim. vi. 8. ^ Rom. v. 6, %, 8. John xv. 8. Rev. iii. 20. 

« Col. iii. 1, 2, 3, 4. Rom. ix. 5. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 227 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Sect. 1. The customs, fashions, <fec. which make up the attire and plea- 
sure of the age, are enemies to inward retirement. 2. Their end is to 
gratify lust. 3. Had they been solid, Adam and Eve had not been 
happy, that never had them. 4. But the confidence and presumption 
' of Christians, as they would be called, in the use of them, is abomi- 
nable. 5. Their authors farther condemn them, who are usually loose 
and vain people. 6. Mostly borrowed of the Gentiles, that knew not 
God. 7. An objection of their usefulness considered and answered, 
and the objectors reproved. 8. The best Heathens abhorring what 
pretended Christians plead for. 9. The use of these things encourages 
the authors and makers of them to continue in them. 10. The objec- 
tion of the maintenance of families answered. None must do evil, that 
good should follow : but better employs may be found more serviceable 
to the world. 31. Another objection answered : God no author of their 
inventions, and so not excusable by his institution. 12. People plead- 
ing for these vanities, shew what they are. An exhortation to be 
weighty and considerate. A great part of the way to true discipleship 
is, to abandon this school and shop of Satan. 

Sept. 1. Next, those customs and fashions, which 
make up the common attire and conversation of the 
times, do eminently obstruct the inward retirement of 
people's minds, by which they may come to behold 
the glories of immortality : who instead of " fearing 
their Creator in the days of their youth^ and seeking 
the kingdom of God in the first place/ '^ expecting 
the addition of such other things as may be necessary 
and convenient, according to the injunciions of God, 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, as soon as they can do any 
thing, they look after pride, vanity, and that conver- 
sation which is most delightful to the flesh, which be- 
comes their most delightful entertainment : all which 
do but evidently beget lustful conceptions, and inflame 
to inordinate thoughts, wanton discourses, Ittscivious 
treats, if not at last to wicked actions. To such it is 
tedious and offensive to speak of heaven, or another 

1 Eccl. xii. 1. Luke xii. 29, 30, 31. 



228 

life : bid them reflect upon their actions, not grieve 
the Holy Spirit, consider of an eternal doom, prepare 
for judgment ;^ and the best return that is usual, is 
reproachful jests, profane repartees, if not direct 
blows. Their thoughts are otherwise employed : their 
mornings are too short for them to wash, to smooth, 
to paint, to patch, to braid, to curl, to gum, to powder, 
and otherwise to attire and adorn themselves ; whilst 
their afternoons are as commonly bespoke for visits, 
and for plays ; w^here their usual entertainments are 
some stories fetched from the more approved ro- 
mances ; some strange adventures, some passionate 
amours, unkind refusals, grand impediments, impor- 
tunate addresses, miserable disappointments, wonder- 
ful surprises, unexpected encounters, castles surprised, 
imprisoned lovers rescued, and meetings of supposed 
dead ones ; bloody duels, languishing voices echoing 
from solitary groves, overheard mournful complaints, 
deep-fetched sighs sent from wild deserts, intrigues 
managed with unheardr.of subtlety : and whilst all 
things seem at the greatest distance, then are people 
alive, enemies friends, despair turned to enjoyment, 
and all their impossibilities reconciled ; things that 
never were, are not, nor ever shall or can be, they all 
come to pass.^ And as if men and women were too 
slow to answer the loose suggestions of corrupt nature; 
or were too intent on more divine speculations and 
heavenly affairs, they have all that is possible for the 
most extravagant wits to invent, not only express lies, 
but utterly impossibilities to very nature, on purpose 

* Eccl. iv. 8. 2 Tim. ii. 16, 21, 22. Eph. iv. 30. Jer. xviii. 18, 19, 
20, ch. XX. 10. 

2 Tit. ii. 3, 4, 5. Eph. v. 3, 4. 1 Titn. iv. 2. 1 Tim. iv. 4. Psal. xii. 
2. Eccl. i. 11, 17, ch. vi. 9. Isa. v. 12, ch. xiv. 29, ch. lix. 3, 4. 



229 

to excite their minds to those idle passions, and intoxi- 
cate their giddy fancies with swelling nothings, but 
airy fictions ; which not only consume their time, ef- 
feminate their natures, debase their reason, and set 
them on work to reduce these things to practice, and 
make each adventure theirs by imitation ; but if disap- 
pointed, as who can otherwise expect from such mere 
phantasms, the present remedy is latitude to the 
greatest vice. And yet these are some of their most 
innocent recreations, which are the very gins of Satan 
to insnare people ; contrived most agreeable to their 
weakness, and in a more insensible manner mastering 
their affections, by entertainments most taking to their 
senses. In such occasions it is that their hearts breed 
vanity, their eyes turn interpreters to their thoughts, 
and their looks do whisper the secret inflamma- 
tions of their intemperate minds ; wandering so long 
abroad, till their lascivious actings bring night home, 
and load their minds and reputations with lust and 
infamy.^ 

Sect. 2. Here is the end of all their fashions and 
recreations, " to gratify the lust of the eye, the lust 
of the flesh, and the pride of life :"^ clothes, that were 
given to cover shame, now want a covering for their 
shameful excess; and that which should remember 
men of lost innocency, they pride and glory in : but 
the hundredth part of these things cost man the loss 
of paradise, that now make up the agreeable recrea- 
tion, ay, the accomplishment of the times. For as it 
was Adam's fault to seek a satisfaction to himself, 
other than what God ordained ; so it is the exercise, 
pleasure and perfection of the age, to spend the great- 

1 Prov. vii. 10 to 21. 2 1 John ii. 15, 16. 



230 

est portion of their time in vanities, which is so far 
from the end of their creation, namely, a divine life, 
that they are destructive of it.^ 

Sect. 3. Were the pleasures of the age true and 
solid, Adam and Eve had been miserable in their in- 
nocency, who knew them not: but as it was oncei;heir 
happiness not to know them in any degree, so it is 
theirs, that know Christ indeed, to be by his eternal 
power redeemed and raised to the love of immortality : 
which is yet a mystery to those who live and have 
pleasure in their curious trims, rich and changeable 
apparel, nicety of dress, invention and imitation of 
fashions, costly attire, mincing gaits, wanton looks, 
romances, plays, treats, balls, feasts, and the like con- 
versation in request : for as these had never been, if 
man had staid at home with his Creator, and given 
the entire exercise of his mind to the noble ends of his 
creation; so certain it is, that' the use of these vanities 
is not only a sign that men and women are yet ig- 
norant of their true rest and pleasure, but it greatly 
obstructs and hinders the retirement of their minds, 
and their serious inquiry after those things that are 
eternal.^ 0, that there should be so much noise, 
clutter, invention, traffic, curiosity, diligence, pains and 
vast expense of time and estate, to please and gratify 
poor vain mortality ! and that the soul, the very image 
of divinity itself, should have so little of their consi- 
deration! What, what more pregnant instances and 
evident tokens can be given, that it is the body, the 
senses, the case, a little flesh and bone covered with 

^ Eccl. xii. 1. 

2 Eph. ii. 1 to 5. Col. ii. 13. 1 Pet. i. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Tit. ii. 11, 
12. Jam. V. 5. Matt. vii. 17, 18, 19. Eom. viii. 8. Matt. xvi. 26. 
1 Cor. vi. 13. Job xxxv. 15. Isa. xl. 6. 1 Pet. i. 24. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 231 

skin, tlie toys, fopperies, and very vanities of this 
mortal life and perishing world, that please, that take, 
that gain them; on which they doat; and think they 
never have too much time, love or money to bestow 
upon them. 

Sect. 4. Thus are their minds employed, and so 
vain are they in their imaginations, and dark in their 
understandings, that they not only believe them in- 
nocent, but persuade themselves they are good Chris- 
tians all this while, and to rebuke them is worse than 
heresy. Thus are they strangers to the hidden life; 
and by these things are they diverted from all serious 
examination of themselves ; and a little by-rote babble, 
with a forced zeal of half an hour's talk in other men's 
words, which they have nothing to do with, is made 
sufficient ; being no more their states, or at least their 
intention, as their works shew, than was it the young 
man's in the gospel, that said, "he would go, and did 
not."' But alas ! why? Oh, there are other guests ! 
What are they? Pharamond, Cleopatra, Cassandra, 
Clelia ; a play, a ball, a spring-garden ; the park, the 
gallant, the exchange ; in a word, the World. These 
stay, these call, these are importunate, and these they 
attend, and these are their most familiar associates. 
Thus are their hearts captivated from the divine ex- 
ercise ; nay, from such external affairs as immediately 
concern some benefit to themselves, or needy neigh- 
bours ; pleasing themselves with the received ideas of 
those toys and fopperies into their loose and airy 
minds: and if in all things they cannot practise them, 
because they want the means of it, yet as much as 

1 Luke viii. U. Prov. i. 25, 30, ch. x. 17, ch. xii. 1, ch. xv. 15. 
Isa. Iviii. 1, 2 to 10. Jer. xvi. 19, 20, 21. 2 Tim. iii. 4. Matt. vi. 7. 



232 

may be, at least to doat upon them, be taken with 
them, and willingly suffer their thoughts to be hur- 
ried after them. All which greatly indisposes the 
minds, and distracts the souls of people from the divine 
life and principle of the holy Jesus : but, as it hath 
been often said, more especially the minds of the 
younger sort, to whom the like divertisements, where 
their inclinations being presented with what is very 
suitable to them, they become excited to more vanity, 
than ever they thought upon before, are incomparably 
dearer than all that can be said of God's fear, a retired 
life, eternal rewards, and joys unspeakable and full of 
glory : so vain, so blind, and so very insensible are 
men and women of what truly makes a disciple of 
Christ !^ ! that they would ponder on these things, 
and watch against, and out of all these vanities, for 
the coming of the Lord, lest being unprepared, and 
taken up with other guests, they enter not into his 
everlasting rest.'^ 

Sect. 5. That which farther manifests the unlaw- 
fulness of these numerous fashions and recreations is, 
that they are either the inventions of vain, idle and 
wanton minds to gratify their own sensualities, and 
raise the like wicked curiosity in others to imitate the 
same ; by which nothing but lust and folly are pro- 
moted : or the contrivances of indigent and impover- 
ished wits, who make it the next way for their main- 
tenance, in both which respects, and upon both which 
considerations, they ought to be detested. For the 
first licenses express impiety ; and the latter counte- 
nances a wretched way of livelihood, and consequently 

I Isa. lix. 4. Jer. ii. 5. Eccl. xi. 10. 
=> Rom. xiii. 11, 12. Matt. xv. 7 to 14. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. ' 233 

diverts from more lawful, more serviceable, and more 
necessary employments. That such persons are both 
the inventors and actors of all these follies, cannot be 
difficult to demonstrate : for were it possible, that any 
one could bring us father Adam's girdle, and mother 
Eve's apron, what laughing, what fleering, what mock- 
ing of their homely fashion would there be? surely 
their taylor would find but little custom, although we 
read, it was God himself '' that made them coats of 
skins.*'* The like may be asked of all the other vanities, 
concerning the holy men and women through all the 
generations of holy writ. How many pieces of riband, 
and what feathers, lace-bands, and the like, did Adam 
and Eve wear in paradise, or out of it ? What rich 
embroideries, silks, points, &c. had Abel, Enoch, 
Noah, and good old Abraham ? Did Eve, Sarah, Su- 
sannah, Elizabeth, and the Virgin Mary use to curl, 
powder, patch, paint, wear false locks, of strange 
colours, rich points, trimmings, laced gowns, embroi- 
dered petticoats, shoes with slipslaps laced with silk 
or silver lace, and ruffled like pigeons' feet, with 
several yards, if not pieces of ribands? How many 
plays did Jesus Christ and his apostles recreate them- 
selves at ? What poets, romances, comedies, and the 
like, did the apostles and saints make, or use to pass 
away their time withal ? I know they bid all " redeem 
their time, to avoid foolish talking, vain jesting, pro- 
fane babblings, and fabulous stories ; as what tend to 
ungodliness; and rather to watch, to work out their 
salvation with fear and trembling, to flee foolish and 
youthful lusts, and to follow righteousness, peace, 
goodness, love, charity; and to mind the things that 

1 Gen. iii. 21. 



234 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

are above, as they would have honour, glory, immor- 
tality and eternal life."^ 

Sect. 6. But if I were asked, Whence came they 
then ? I could quickly answer, From the Gentiles, that 
knew not God ; for some amongst them detested them, 
as will be shown ; they were the pleasures of an eifemi- 
nate Sardanapalus, a fantastic Miracles, a comical 
Aristophanes, a prodigal Charaxus, a luxurious Aris- 
tippus; and the practices of such women as the in- 
famous Clytemnestra, the painted Jezebel, the lasci- 
vious Campaspe, the immodest Posthumia, the costly 
Corinthian Lais, the most impudent Flora, the wanton 
Egyptian Cleopatra, and most insatiable Messalina : 
persons whose memories have stunk through all ages, 
and that carry with them a perpetual rot : these, and 
not the holy self-denying men and women, in ancient 
times, were devoted to the like recreations and vain 
delights. Nay, the more sober of the very Heathens 
themselves, and that upon a principle of great virtue, 
as is by all confessed, detested the like folly and 
wanton practices. There is none of them to be found 
in Plato, or in Seneca's works : Pythagoras, Socrates, 
Phocion, Zeno, &c. did not accustom themselves to 
these entertainments. The virtuous Penelope, the 
chaste Lucretia, the grave Cornelia, and modest Pontia, 
with many others, could find themselves employment 
enough amongst their children, servants and neigh- 
bours : they, though nobles, next their devotion, de- 
lighted most in spinning, weaving, gardening, needle- 
work, and such like good housewifery, and commend- 
able entertainment: who, though called Heathens, 

• Eph. V. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 15, 16. 2 Tim. ii. 16, 22. Matt. xxv. 13. Phil. 
ii. 12, 13. Col. iii. 1, 2, 3. Rom. ii. 6, 7. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 235 

expressed much more Christianity in all their actions, 
than do the wanton, foolish people of this age, who 
notwithstanding will be called Christians. But above 
all, you play-mongers, whence think you came your 
so passionately beloved comedies? than which, as 
there is not any one diversion, that is more pernicious, 
so not one more in esteem and fondly frequented : 
Why, I will tell you. Their great grand-father was 
an Heathen, and that not of the best sort : his name 
was Epicharmus. It is true, he is called a philosopher, 
or a lover of wisdom ; but he was only so by name, 
and no more one in reality than the comedians of these 
times are true Christians. It is reported of him by 
Suidas, a Greek historian, that he was the first man 
who invented comedies; and by the help of one Phor- 
mus, he made also fifty fables. But would you know 
his country, and the reason of his invention ? His 
country was Syracuse, the chief city in Sicily, famous 
for the infamy of many tyrants ; to please and gratify 
the lusts of some of whom, he set his wits to work. 
And do not you think this an ill original? and is it less 
in any one to imitate or justify the same, since the 
more sober Heathens have themselves condemned 
them? nay, is it not abominable, when such as call 
themselves Christians do both imitate and justify the 
like inventions ? Nor had the melancholy tragedies 
a better parentage, namely, one Thespis, an Athenian 
poet; to whom they also do ascribe the original of that 
impudent custom of painting faces, and the counterfeit 
or representation of other persons by change of habit, 
humours, &c. all which are now so much in use and 
reputation with the great ones of the times. To these 
let me add that poetical amoroso, whom an inordinate 



236 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

passion of love first transported to those poetical rap- 
tures of admiration, indeed sordid effeminacy, if not 
idolatry ; they call him Alcman, or Alcina, a Lydian ; 
he, being exceedingly in love with a young woman of 
his own country, is said to have been the first person 
that 'gave the world a sight of that kind of folly, 
namely, love-stories and verses, which have been so 
diligently imitated by almost all nations ever since in 
their romances. 

Sect. 7. I know that some will say. But we have 
many comedies and tragedies, sonnets, catches, &c. 
that are on purpose to reprehend vice, from whence 
we learn many commendable things. Though this be 
shameful, yet many have been wont, for want of shame 
or understanding, or both, to return me this for an- 
swer. Now I readily shall confess, that it was the 
next remedy amongst the Heathens, against the com- 
mon vices, to the more grave and moral lectures of 
their philosophers of which number I shall instance 
two : Euripides, whom Suidas calls a learned tragical 
poet, and Eupolis, whom the same historian calls a 
comical poet. The first was a man so chaste, and 
therefore so unlike those of our days, that he was 
called MiGoyvvrj, or one that hated women, that is, 
wanton ones, for otherwise he was twice married i^ the 
other he characters as a most severe reprehender of 
faults. From which I gather, that their design was 
not to feed the idle, lazy fancies of people, nor merely 
to get money ; but since by the means of loose wits, 
the people had been debauched, their work was to re- 
claim them, rendering vice ridiculous, and turning wit 
against wickedness. And this appears the rather, 
from the description given, as also that Euripides was 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 237 

supposed to have been torn in pieces by wanton 
women ; which doubtless was for declaiming against 
their impudence : and the other being slain in the 
battle betwixt the Athenians and Lacedemonians, was 
so regretted, that a law was made, that never after 
such poets should be allowed to bear arms : doubtless 
it was because in losing him, they lost a reprover of 
vice. So that the end of the approved comedians and 
tragedians of those times was but to reform the people, 
by making sin odious: and that not so much by a ra- 
tional and argumentative way, usual with their philoso- 
phers, as by sharp jeers, severe reflections, and render- 
ing their vicious actions shameful, ridiculous and 
detestable; so that for reputation sake, they might not 
longer be guilty of them : which to me is but a little 
softer than a whip, or a Bridewell. Now if you that 
plead for them, will be contented to be accounted Hea- 
thens, and those of the more dissolute and wicked sort 
too, that will sooner be jeered than argued out of your 
sins, we shall acknowledge to you, that such comedies 
and tragedies as these may be serviceable : but then 
for shame, abuse not the name of Jesus Christ so im- 
pudently, as to call yourselves Christians, whose lusts 
are so strong, that you are forced to use the low shifts 
of Heathens to repel them : to leave their evils not 
for the love of virtue, but out of fear, shame, or repu- 
tation. Is this your love to Jesus ? your reverence to 
the scriptures, that through faith are able to make the 
"man of God perfect?" Is all your prattle about 
ordinances, prayers, sacraments, Christianity, and the 
like come to this ; that at last you must betake your- 
selves to such instructors, as were by the sober Hea- 
thens permitted to reclaim the most vicious of the 



238 

people that were amongst them ? and such remedies 
too, as below which there is nothing but corporal pun- 
ishment. 

Sect. 8. This is so far from Christianity, that many 
of the nobler Heathens, men and women, were better 
taught and better disposed ; they found out more hea- 
venly contemplations, and subjects of an eternal nature 
to meditate upon. Nay, so far did they outstrip the 
Christians of these times, that they not only were ex- 
emplary by their grave and sober conversation, but, 
for the public benefit, the Athenians instituted the 
Gynascosmi, or Twenty Men, who should make it 
their business to observe the people's apparel and be- 
haviour; that if any were found immodest, and to 
demean themselves loosely, they had full authority to 
punish them. But the case is altered, it is punishable 
to reprove such : yes, it is matter of the greatest con- 
tumely and reproach. Nay, so impudent are some 
grown in their impieties, that they sport themselves 
with such religious persons, and not only manifest a 
great neglect of piety, and a severe life, by their own 
looseness, but their extreme contempt of it, by render- 
ing it ridiculous through comical and abusive jests on 
public stages. Which, how dangerous it is, and apt 
to make religion little worth in the people's eyes, be- 
side the demonstration of this age, let us remember, 
ths.t Aristophanes had not a readier way to bring the 
reputation of Socrates in question with the people, who 
greatly reverenced him for his grave and virtuous life 
and doctrine, than by his abusive representations of 
him in a play : which made the airy, wanton, unstable 
crowd, rather part with Socrates in earnest, than So- 
crates in jest. Nor can a better reason be given why 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 239 

the poor Quakers are made so much the scorn of men, 
than because of their severe reprehensions of sin and 
vanity, and their self-denying conversation, amidst so 
great intemperance in all worldly satisfactions : yet 
can such libertines all this while strut, and swell for 
Christians, and stout it out against precept and ex- 
ample ; but we must be whimsical, conceited, morose, 
melancholy, or else heretics, deceivers, and what not? 
blindness ! pharisaical hypocrisy ! as if such were 
fit to be judges of religion, or that it were possible for 
them to have a sight and sense of true religion, or 
really to be religious, whilst darkened in their under- 
standings by the god of the pleasures of this world, 
and their minds so wrapped up in external enjoyments, 
and the variety of worldly delights : no ; in the name 
of the everlasting God, you mock him, and deceive 
your souls ; for the wrath of the Almighty is against 
you all, whilst in that spirit and condition : in vain 
are all your babbles and set performances, God laughs 
you to scorn ; his anger is kindling because of these 
things. Wherefore be ye warned to temperance, and 
repent. 

Sect. 9. Besides, this sort of people are not only 
wicked, loose and vain, who both invent and act these 
things ; but by your great delight in such vain in- 
ventions, you encourage them therein, and hinder 
them from more honest and more serviceable employ- 
ments. For what is the reason that most commodities 
are held at such excessive rates, but because labour is 
so very dear ? And why is it so, but because so many 
hands are otherwise bestowed, even about the very 
vanity of all vanities ? Nay, how common is it with 
these mercenary procurers to people's folly, that when 



240 

their purses begin to grow low, they shall present them 
with a new, and pretendedly more convenient fashion; 
and that perhaps, before the former costly habits shall 
have done half their service : which either must be 
given away, or new vampt in the cut most alamode. 

prodigal, yet frequent folly ? 

Sect. 10. I know I am coming to encounter the 
most plausible objection they are used to urge, when 
driven to a pinch, viz. '^ But how shall those many 
families subsist, whose livelihood depends upon such 
fashions and recreations as you so earnestly decry ?" 

1 answer ; It is a bad argument to plead for the com- 
mission of the least evil, that never so great a good 
may come of it : if you and they have made wicked- 
ness your pleasure and your profit, be ye content that 
it should be your grief and punishment, till the one 
can learn to be without such vanity, and the others 
have found out more honest employments. It is the 
vanity of the few great ones that makes so much toil 
for the many small ; and the great excess of the one 
occasions the great labour of the other. Would men 
learn to be contented with few things, such as are ne- 
cessary and convenient, the ancient Christian life, all 
things might be at a cheaper rate, and men might live 
for little. If the landlords had less lusts to satisfy, 
the tenants might have less rent to pay, and turn from 
poor to rich, whereby they might be able to find more 
honest and domestic employments for children, than 
becoming sharpers, and living by their wits, which is 
but a better word for their sins. And if the report of 
the more intelligent in husbandry be credible, lands 
are generally improveable ten in twenty : and were 
there more hands about more lawful and serviceable 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 257 

niture, and attendance, together with what is com- 
monly consumed in taverns, feasts, gaming, &c. could 
be collected into a public stock, or something in lieu 
of this extravagant and fruitless expense, there might 
be reparation to the broken tenants, work-houses for 
the able, and alms-houses for the aged and impotent.^ 
Then should we have no beggars in the land, the cry 
of the widow and the orphan would cease, and chari- 
table reliefs might easily be afforded towards the re- 
demption of poor captives, and refreshment of such 
distressed Protestants as labour under the miseries of 
persecution in other countries : nay, the exchequer's 
needs, on just emergencies, might be supplied by such 
a bank : this sacrifice and service would please the 
just and merciful God : it would be a noble example 
of gravity and temperance to foreign states, and an 
unspeakable benefit to Ourselves at home. 

Alas ! why should m^ need persuasions to what 
their own felicity so necessarily leads them to ? had 
those vitiosos of the times but a sense of heathen 
Cato's generosity, they would rather deny their carnal 
appetites, than leave such noble enterprises unat- 
tempted. But that they should eat, drink, play, game, 
and sport away their health, estates, and above all, 
their irrevocable precious time, which should be dedi- 
cated to the Lord, as a necessary introduction to a 
blessed eternity, and than which, did they but know 
it, no worldly solace could come in competition ; I say, 
that they should be continually employed about these 
poor, low things, is to have the Heathens judge them 
in God's day, as well as Christian precepts and exam- 
ples condemn them. And their final doom will prove 

1 Prov. xiv. 21. Matt. xix. 21. 

17 



258 NO CKOSS, NO CROWN. 

the more astonishing, in that this vanity and excess 
are acted under a profession of the self-denying re- 
ligion of Jesus, whose life and doctrine are a perpetual 
reproach to the most of Christians. For he (blessed 
man) was humble, but they are proud ; he forgiving, 
they revengeful ; he meek, they fierce ; he plain, 
they gaudy ; he abstemious, they luxurious ; he 
chaste, they lascivious ; he a pilgrim on earth, they 
citizens of the world: in fine, he was meanly born, 
poorly attended, and obscurely brought up : he lived 
despised, and died hated of the men of his own nation. 
you pretended followers of this crucified Jesus ! 
" examine yourselves ; try yourselves ; know you not 
your own selves, if he dwell not (if he rule not) in 
you, that you are reprobates?"^ "be ye not deceived, 
for God will not be mocked (at last with forced re- 
pentances) ; such as you sow, such you must reap in 
God's day."^ I beseech you hear me, and remember 
you were invited and intreated to the salvation of 
God. I say, as you sow you reap : if you are ene- 
mies to the cross of Christ, and you are so, if you 
will not bear it, but do as you list, and not as you 
ought, if you are uncircumcised in heart and ear; and 
you are so, if you will not hear and open to him that 
knocks at the door within ; and if you resist and 
quench the Spirit in yourselves, that strives with you 
to bring you to God, and that you certainly do, who 
rebel against its motions, reproofs and instructions, 
then " you sow to the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof, 
and of the flesh will you reap the fruits of corruption, 
wo, anguish, and .tribulation, from God the judge of 
quick and dead, by Jesus Christ."^ But if you will 

1 2 Cor. xiii. 5. 2 (jai. yi. 7, 8. « Rom. ii. 8. 



259 

daily bear tlie holy cross of Christ, and sow to the 
Spirit ; if you will listen to the light and grace that 
comes by Jesus, and which he has given to all people 
for salvation, and square your thoughts, words, and 
deeds thereby, which leads and teaches the lovers of 
it to deny all ungodliness and the world's lusts, and 
to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present 
evil world, then may you with confidence look for the 
blessed "hope, and joyful coming, and glorious ap- 
pearance of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus 
Christ."^ Let it be so, you Christians, and escape 
the wrath to come ! why will you die ? let the time 
past suffice : remember that JSTo Cross, No Crown. 
*' Redeem then the time, for the days are evil, and 
yours but very few. Therefore gird up the loins of 
your minds, be sober, fear, watch, pray, and endure 
to the end;"^ calling to mind, for your encouragement 
and consolation ; that all such, as " through patience 
and well doing wait for immortality, shall reap glory, 
honour, and eternal life, in the kingdom of the Father; 
whose is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for 
ever."^ Amen. 

1 Tit. iii. 11, 12, 13. 2 Eph. v. 16. » Eom. ii. 1, 9. 



m CROSS, NO CRO¥I. 



PART II. 



CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT 



LIVING AND DYING SAYINGS OF MEN, 



EMINENT FOR THEIR 



GREATNESS, LEARNING, OR VIRTUE; AND THAT OF DIVERS PERIODS 
OF TIME, AND NATIONS OF THE WORLD. 



ALL CONCDBfiINQ IN THIS ONE TESTIMONT, 



THAT A LIFE OF STRICT VIRTUE, VIZ. TO DO WELL, AND BEAl 
ILL, IS THE WAY TO EVERLASTING HAPPINESS." ' 



OOLLKCTED IN FAVOUR OP THE TRUTH DELIVERED IN THE FIRST PART 



BY WILLIAM PENN. 



PHILA.DELPHIA: 
PRINTED BY T. K. & P. G. COLLINS, 

FOR THE REPRESENTATIVE COMMITTEE, OR MEETING FOR SUFFER- 
INGS, OF THE YEARLY MEETING OF FRIENDS, 
HELD IN PHILADELPHIA : 
1853. 



PEEFACE 



No Cross, no Crown should have ended here; 
but that the power, examples and authorities have put 
upon the minds of people, above the most reasonable 
and pressing arguments, inclined me to present my 
readers with some of those many instances that might 
be given, in favour of the virtuous life recommended 
in our discourse. I chose to cast them into three 
sorts of testimonies, not after the threefold subject of 
the book, but suitable to the times, qualities, and cir- 
cumstances of the persons that gave them forth ; whose 
divers excellencies and stations have transmitted theiv 
names with reputation to our own times. The first 
testimony comes from those called Heathens, the second 
from Professed Christians, and the last from Retired, 
Aged, and Dying Men ; being their last and serious 
reflections, to which no ostentation or worldly interests 
could induce them. Where it will be easy for the 
considerate reader to observe how much the pride, 
avarice, and luxury of the world, stood reprehended 
in the judgments of persons of great credit amongst 
men ; and what was that life and conduct, that in their 
most retired meditations, when their sight was clearest, 
and judgment most free and disabused, they thought 
would give peace here, and lay foundations of eternal 
blessedness. 

263 



CHAPTER XIX 



RECOMMENDED. 

I. Among the Greeks, viz. Sect. 1. Of Cyrus. 2. Artaxerxes. 3. Aga- 
thocles. 4. Philip. 5. Alexander. 6. Ptolemy. 7. Zenophanes. 8. 
Antigonus. 9. Themistocles. 10. Aristides. 11. Pericles. 12. Pho- 
cion. 13. Clitomachus. 14. Epaminondas. 15. Demosthenes. 16. 
Agasicles. 17. Agesilaus. 18. Agis. 19. Alcamenes. 20. Alexan- 
dridas. 21. Anaxilas. 22. Ariston. 23. Archidamus. 24. Cleomenes. 
25. Dersyllidas. 26, Hippodamus. 27. Leonidas. 28. Lysander. 
29. Pausanias. 30. Theopompus, <fcc. 31. The manner of life and 
government of the Lacedaemonians in general. 32. Lycurgus their 
lawgiver. II. Among the Romans, viz. 33. Of Cato. 34. Scipio Af- 
ricanus. 35. Augustus. 36. Tiberius. 37. Vespasian. 38. Trajan. 
39. Adrian. 40. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. 41, Pertinax. 42. Pes- 
cennius. 43, Alexander Severus. 44. Aurelianus. 45. Dioclesiau. 
46. Julian. 47. Theodosius, III. The lives and doctrine of some of 
the Heathen philosophers among the Greeks and Romans, viz. 48. 
Thales. 49. Pythagoras. 50. Solon. 51. Chilon. 52. Periander. 
53. Bias. 54. Cleobulus. 55. Pittacus. 56. Hippias. 57. The Gym- 
nosophistae. 58. The Bamburacii. 59. Gynsecosmi. 60. Anacharsis. 
61. Anaxagoras, 62. Heraclitus. 63. Democritus. 64. Socrates. 65. 
Plato. 66, Antisthenes, 67, Zenocrates, 68, Bion. 69, Demonax. 
70, Diogenes. 71. Crates. 72, Aristotle. 73. Mandanis. 74. Zeno. 
75. Quintilian. 76, Seneca. 77. Epictetus. IV. Of virtuous Heathen 
women, viz. 78. Penelope. 79. Theoxena. 80. Pandora and Prota- 
gena. 81. Hipparchia. 82. Lucretia. 83. Cornelia. 84. Pontia. 
85, Arria. 86. Pompeja Plautina. 87. Plotina. 88. Pompeja Paulina. 
89. A reproof to voluptuous women of the times. 

Sect. 1. Cyrus, than whom a greater monarcli we 
hardly find in story, is more famous for his virtue 
than his power ; and indeed it was that which gave 
him power. God calls him his shepherd : now let us 
see the principles of his conduct and life. So tem- 
perate was he in his youth, that when Astyages urged 

265 



266 

him to drink wine, lie answered, I am afraid lest there 
should be poison in it ; having seen thee reel and sot- 
tish after having drunk thereof. And so careful was 
he to keep the Persians from corruption of manners, 
that he would not suffer them to leave their rude and 
mountainous country, for one more pleasant and fruit- 
ful, lest through plenty and ease, luxury at last might 
debase their spirits. And so very chaste was he, that 
having taken a lady of quality, a most beautiful 
woman, his prisoner, he refused to see her, saying, I 
have no mind to be a captive to my captive. It seems, 
he claimed no such propriety, but shunned the occa- 
sion of evil. The comptroller of his household asking 
him one day, what he would please to have for his 
dinner ? Bread, said he ; for I intend to encamp nigh 
the water : a short and easy bill of fare ; but this 
shews the power he had over his appetite as well 
as his soldiers; and that he was fit to command 
others, that could command himself; according to 
another saying of his. No man, saith he, is worthy to 
command, who is not better than those who are to 
obey : and when he came to die, he gave this reason 
of his belief of immortality, I cannot, said he, per- 
suade myself to think, that the soul of man, after 
having sustained itself in a mortal body, should perish 
when delivered out of it, for want of it : a saying of 
perhaps as great weight, as may be advanced against 
atheism from more enlightened times. 

Sect. 2. Artaxerxes Mnemon, being upon an 
extraordinary occasion reduced to eat barley bread 
and dried figs, and drink water; What pleasure, saith 
he, have I lost till now, through my delicacies and 
excess ! 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 267 

Sect. 3. Agathocles becoming king of Sicily, from 
being the son of a potter, always, to humble his mind 
to his original, would be daily served in earthen ves- 
sels upon his table : an example of humility and plain- 
ness. 

Sect. 4. Philip king of Macedon, upon three sorts 
of good news arriving in one day, feared too much 
success might transport him immoderately ; and there- 
fore prayed for some disappointments to season his 
prosperity, and caution his mind under the enjoyment 
of it. He refused to oppress the Greeks with his gar- 
risons, saying, I had rather retain them by kindness, 
than fear ; and to be always beloved, than for a while 
terrible. One of his minions persuading him to de- 
cline hearing of a cause, wherein a particular friend 
was interested ; I had much rather, says he, thy friend 
should lose his cause, than I my reputation. Seeing 
his son Alexander endeavour to gain the hearts of the 
Macedonians by gifts and rewards, Canst thou believe, 
says he, that a man that thou hast corrupted to thy 
interests will ever be true to them ? When his court 
would have had him quarrel and correct the Pelopon- 
nenses for their ingratitude to him, he said, By no 
means; for if they despise and abuse me, after being 
kind to them, what will they do if I do them harm? 
A great example of patience in a king, and wittily 
said. Like to this was his reply to the ambassadors 
of Athens, whom asking after audience, If he could 
do them any service, and one of them surlily answering, 
The best thou canst do us is, to hang thyself; he was 
nothing disturbed, though his court murmured; but 
calmly said to the ambassador, Those who suffer in- 
juries, are better people than those that do them. To 



268 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

conclude with him, being one day fallen along the 
ground, and seeing himself in that posture, he cried 
out. What a small spot of earth do we take up ! and 
yet the whole world cannot content us. 

Sect. 5. Alexander was very temperate and virtu- 
ous in his youth: a certain governor having written to 
him, that a merchant of the place had several fine 
hoys to sell, he returned him this answer with great 
indignation, What hast thou seen in any act of my 
life, that should put thee upon such a message as 
this ? and avoided the woman his courtiers flung in his 
way to debauch him. Nay, he would not see the wife 
of Darius, famed for the most beautiful princess of the 
age ; which with his other virtues, made Darius (the 
last Persian king) to say. If God has determined to 
take my empire from me, I wish it into the hands of 
Alexander, my virtuous enemy. He hated covetous- 
ness ; for though he left great conquests, he left no 
riches ; which made him thus to answer one that asked 
him dying. Where he had hid his treasures ? Among 
my friends, says he. He was wont to say. He owed 
more to his master for his education, than to his father 
for his birth ; by how much it was less to live, than to 
live well. 

Sect. 6. Ptolemy, son of Lagus, being reproached 
for his mean original, and his friends, angry that he 
did not resent it; we ought, says he, to bear reproaches 
patiently. 

Sect. 7. Xenophanes being jeered for refusing to 
play at a forbidden game, answered, I do riot fear my 
money, but my reputation: they that make laws, must 
keep them. A commendable saying. 

Sect. 8. Antigonus being taken sick, he said, It 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 269 

was a warning from God to instruct him of his mor- 
tality. A poet flattering him with the title of the 
Son of God; he answered, My servant knows the con- 
trary. Another sycophant telling him, that the will 
of kings is the rule of justice : No, saith he, rather 
justice is the rule of the will of kings. And being 
pressed by his minions to put a garrison into Athens, 
to hold the Greeks in subjection, he answered. He 
had not a stronger garrison than the affections of his 
people. 

Sect. 9. Themistocles, after all the honour of his 
life, sits down with this conclusion. That the way to 
the grave is more desirable than the way to worldly 
honours. His daughter being courted by one of little 
wit and great wealth, and another of little wealth and 
great goodness ; he chose the poor man for his son-in- 
law ; For, saith he, I will rather have a man without 
money, than money without a man ; reckoning that 
not money, but worth, makes the man. Being told 
by Symmachus, that he would teach him the art of 
memory ; he gravely answered. He had rather learn 
the art of forgetfulness ; adding, He could remember 
enough, but many things he could not forget, which 
were necessary to be forgotten ; as the honours, glo- 
ries, pleasures and conquests he had spent his days 
in, too apt to transport to vain glory. 

Sect. 10. Aristides, a wise and just Greek, of 
greatest honour and trust with the Athenians ; he was 
a great enemy to cabals in government : the reason he 
renders is. Because, saith he, I would not be obliged 
to authorize injustice. He so much hated covetous- 
ness, though he was thrice chosen treasurer of Athens, 
that he lived and died poor, and that of choice : for 



270 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

being therefore reproaclied by a rich usurer, he an- 
swered, Thy riches hurt thee, more than my poverty 
hurts me. Being once banished by a contrary faction 
in the state, he prayed to God, that the affairs of his 
country might go so well, as never to need his return; 
which however caused him presently to be recalled. 
Whereupon he told them. That he was not troubled 
for his exile with respect to himself, but the honour 
of his country. Themistocles, their general, had a 
project to propose to render Athens mistress of 
Greece, but it required secrecy : the people obliged 
him to communicate it to Aristides, whose judgment 
they would follow. Aristides having privately heard it 
from Themistocles, publicly answered to the people, 
True, there was nothing more advantageous, nor no- 
thing more unjust : which quashed the project. 

Sect. 11. Pericles, as he mounted the tribunal, 
prayed to God, that not a word might fall from him 
that might scandalize the people, wrong the public 
affairs, or hurt his own. One of his friends praying 
him to speak falsely in his favour. We are friends, saith 
he, but not beyond the altar ; meaning not against re- 
ligion and truth. Sophocles, being his companion, 
upon sight of a beautiful woman, said to Pericles, Ah, 
what a lovely creature is that ! to whom Pericles re- 
plied, it becometh a magistrate not only to have iiis 
hands clean, but his tongue and eyes also. 

Sect. 12. Phocion, a famous Athenian, was honest 
and poor, yea, he contemned riches : for a certain^go- 
vernor making rich presents, he returned them ; say- 
ing, I refused Alexander's. And when several per- 
suaded him to accept of such bounty, or else his 
children would want, he answered. If my son be vir- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 271 

tuous, I shall leave him enough ; and if he he vicious, 
more would he too little. He rehuked the excess of 
the Athenians, and that openly, saying, He that 
eateth more than he ought, maketh more diseases 
than he can cure. To condemn or flatter him was to 
him alike. X)emosthenes telling him. Whenever the 
people were enraged, they would kill him ; he an- 
swered, and thee also, when they are come to their 
wits. He said, An orator was like a cypress tree, 
fair and great, but fruitless. Antipater, pressing him 
to submit to his sense, he answered. Thou canst not 
have me for a friend and flatterer too. Seeing a man 
in office to speak much, and do little, he asked. How 
can that man do business, that is already drunk with 
talking ? After all the great services of his life, he 
was unjustly condemned to die ; and going to the 
place of execution, lamented of the people, one of his 
enemies spit in his face ; he took it without any dis- 
order of mind, only saying, Take him away. Before 
execution, his friends asked him, Whether he had no- 
thing to say to his son ? Yes, said he, let him not 
hate my enemies, nor revenge my death : I see it is 
better to sleep upon the earth with peace, than with 
trouble upon the softest bed : that he ought to do that 
which is his duty, and what is more is vanity : that 
he must not carry two faces : that he promise little, 
but keep his promises : the world does the contrary. 

Sect. 13. Clitomachus had so great a love to vir- 
tue, and practised it with such exactness, that if at 
any time in company he heard wanton or obscene dis- 
course, he was wont to quit the place. 

Sect. 14. Epaminondas being invited to a sacrifi- 
cial feast, so soon as he had entered he withdrew, be- 



272 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

cause of the sumptuous furniture and attire of the 
place and people ; saying, I was called at Leuctra to 
a sacrifice, but I find it is a debauch. The day after 
the great battle which he obtained upon his enemies, 
he seemed sad and solitary, which was not his ordi- 
nary temper; and being asked why? .answered, I 
would moderate the joy of yesterday's triumphs. A 
Thessalian general, and his colleague in a certain en- 
terprise, knowing his poverty, sent him two thousand 
crowns to defray his part of the charges ; but he 
seemed angry, and answered. This looks like corrupt- 
ing me; contenting himself with less than five pounds, 
which he borrowed of one of his friends for that ser- 
vice. The same moderation made him refuse the 
presents of the Persian emperor, saying, They were 
needless, if he only desired of him what was just ; if 
more, he was not rich enough to corrupt him. Seeing 
a rich man refuse to lend one of his friends money 
that was in affliction ; he said, Art not thou ashamed 
to refuse to help a good man in necessity ? After he 
had freed Grreece from trouble, and made the Thebans 
his countrymen triumph over the Lacedaemonians, till 
then invincible, that ungrateful people arraigned him 
and his friends, under pretence of acting something 
without authority ; he, as general, took the blame 
upon himself, justified the action both from necessity 
and success, arraigning his judges for ingratitude, 
whilst himself was at the bar ; which caused them to 
withdraw with fallen countenances, and hearts smitten 
with guilt and fear. To conclude, he was a man of 
great truth and patience, as well as wisdom and 
courage ; for he was never observed to lie, in earnest 
or in jest. And notwithstanding the ill and cross hu- 



273 

mours of the Thebans, aggravated by his incomparable 
hazards and services for their freedom and renown, 
it is reported of him, that he ever bore them pa- 
tiently ; often saying, That he ought no more to be 
revenged of his country, than of his father. And 
being wounded to death in the battle of Mantinea, he 
advised his countryjuen to make peace, none being fit 
to command : which proved true. He would not 
suffer them to pull^the sword out of his body, till he 
knew he had gained the victory ; and then he ended 
his days with this expression in his mouth, I die con- 
tentedly, for it is in defence of my country ; and I 
am sure I shall live in the eternal memory of good 
men. This, for a Gentile and a general, hath matter 
of praise and example in it. 

Sect. 15. Demosthenes, the great orator of Athens, 
had these sentences : That wise men speak little ; and 
that therefore nature hath given men two ears and one 
tongue to hear more than they speak. To one that 
spoke much he said. How cometh it, that he who 
taught thee to speak, did not teach thee to hold thy 
tongue? He said of a covetous man. That he knew 
not how to live all his life-time, and that he left it for 
another to live after he was dead. That it was an 
easy thing to deceive one's self, because it was easy 
to persuade one's self to what one desired. He said, 
That calumnies were easily received, but time would 
always discover them. That there was nothing more 
uneasy to good men, than not to have the liberty of 
speaking freely : and that if one knew what one had 
to suffer from the people, one would never meddle to 
govern them. In fine, That man's happiness was to 
18 



274 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

be like God ; and to resemble him, we must love truth 
and justice. 

Sect. 16. Agasicles, king of the Lacedaemonians, 
or Spartans, which are one, was of the opinion, That 
it was better to govern without force : And, says he, 
the means to do it, is to govern the people as a 
father governs his children. 

Sect. 17. Agesilaus, king of the same people, 
would say, That he had rather be master of himself, 
than of the greatest city of his enemies ; and to pre- 
serve his own liberty, than to unsurp the liberty of 
another man. A prince, says he, ought to distinguish 
himself from his subjects by his virtue, and not by his 
state or delicacy of life. Wherefore he wore plain, 
simple clothing ; his table was ~as moderate, and his 
bed as hard, as that of any ordinary subject. And 
when he was told, that one time or other he would be 
obliged to change his fashion ; No, saith he, I am not 
given to change, even in a change : and this I do, 
saith he, to remove from young men any pretence of 
luxury ; that they may see their prince practise what 
he counsels them to do. He added, that the foundation 
of the Lacedaemonian laws was, to despise luxury, 
and to reward with liberty : Nor, saith he, should good 
men put a value upon that which mean and base souls 
make their delight. Being flattered by some with 
divine honour, he asked them. If they could not make 
gods too? If they could, why did they not begin with 
themselves ? — The same austere conduct of life made 
him refuse to have his statue erected in the cities of 
Asia: nor would he suffer his picture to be taken ; and 
his reason is good: For, saitli lie, the fairest portraiture 
of men is their own actions. — Whatsoever was to be 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 275 

suddenly done in the goverment, he was sure to 
set his hand first to the work, like a common person. 
He would say. It did not become men to make provi- 
sions to be rich, but to be good. Being asked the 
means to true happiness, he answered, To do nothing 
that should make a man fear to die: another time. To 
speak well, and do well. Being called home by the 
Ephori, or supreme magistrates, the way of the Spartan 
constitution, he returned ; saying, It is not less the 
duty of a prince to obey laws, than to command men. 
He conferred places of trust and honour upon his ene- 
mies, that he might constrain their hatred into love. 
A lawyer asked him for a letter to make a person 
judge, that was of his own friends : My friends, says 
he, have no need of a recommendation to do justice. 
— A comedian of note wondering that Agesilaus said 
nothing to him, asked, if he knew him? Yes, saith 
he, I know thee ; art not thou the buffoon Callipedes ? 
One calling the king of Persia the great king, he an- 
swered. He is not greater than I, unless he hath more 
virtue than I. — One of his friends catching him playing 
with his children, he prevented him thus: Say nothing, 
till thou art a father too. — He had great care of the edu- 
cation of youth ; often saying. We must teach children 
what they shall do when they are men. The Egypt- 
ians despising him because he had but a small train 
and a mean equipage; Oh, saith he, I will have them to 
know, royalty consists not in vain pomp, but in virtue. 
Sect. 18. Agis, another king of Laced^smonia, im- 
prisoned for endeavouring to restore their declining 
discipline, being asked, whether he repented not of 
his design ? answered. No ; for, saith he, good actions 
never need repentance. His father and mother desir- 



276 

ing of him to grant something he thought unjust, he 
answered, I obeyed you when I was young ; I must 
now obey the laws, and do that which is reasonable. 
— As he was leading to the place of execution, one of 
his people wept; to whom he said, Weep not for me; 
for the authors of this unjust death are more in fault 
than I. 

Sect. 19. Alcamenes, king of the same people, 
being asked, which was the way to get and preserve 
honour ? answered. To despise wealth. Another won- 
dering why he refused the presents of the Messenians, 
he answered, I make conscience to keep the laws that 
forbid it. To a miser accusing him of being so re- 
served in his discourse, he said, I had rather conform 
to reason, than thy covetousness ; or, I had rather be 
covetous of my words than money. 

Sect. 20. Alexandridas hearing an exile com- 
plain of his banishment, saith he. Complain of the 
cause of it, to wit, his deserts ; for there is nothing 
hurtful but vice. Being asked, w^hy they were so long 
in making the process of criminals in Lacedsemonia ? 
Because, saith he, when they are once dead they are 
past repentance. This shews their belief of immor- 
tality and eternal blessedness ; and that even poor 
criminals, through repentance, may obtain it. 

Sect. 21. Anaxilas would say. That the greatest 
advantage kings had over other men, was their power 
of excelling them in good deeds. 

Sect. 22. Ariston, hearing one admire this ex- 
pression. We ought to do good to our friends, and evil 
to our enemies ; answered. By no means, we ought to 
do good to all ; to keep our friends, and to gain our 
enemies. A doctrine the most difficult to flesh and 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 277 

blood, of all the precepts of Christ's sermon upon 
the mount : nay, not allowed to be his doctrine ; but 
both " An eye for an eye ;" defended against his ex- 
press command, and oftentimes an eye put out, an 
estate sequestered, and life taken away, under a spe- 
cious zeal for religion too ; as if sin could be chris- 
tened, and impiety entitled to the doctrine of Christ. 
Oh, will not such Heathens rise up in judgment 
against our worldly Christians in the great day of 
God! 

Sect. 23. Archidamus, also king of Sparta, being 
asked, who was master of Lacedsemonia ? The laws, 
saith he, and after them the magistrates. — One prais- 
ing a musician in his presence, Ah ! saith he, but when 
will you praise a good man ? — Another saying. That 
man is an excellent musician : That is all one, saith 
he, as if thou wouldst say. There is a good cook : 
counting both trades of voluptuousness. — Another 
promising him some excellent wine : I care not, saith 
he, for it will only put my mouth out of taste to my 
ordinary liquor ; which it seems was water. — Two men 
chose him an arbitrator ; to accept it, he made them 
promise to do what he would have them : Then, said 
he, stir not from this place till you have agreed the 
matter between yourselves ; which was done. — Dennis, 
king of Sicily, sending his daughters rich apparel, he 
forbad them to wear it, saying, You will seem to me 
but the more homely. — This great man certainly was 
not of the mind to bring up his children at the ex- 
changes, dancing schools, and play-houses. 

Sect. 24. Cleomenes, king of the same people, 
would say. That kings ought to be pleasant ; but not 
to cheapness and contempt. He was so just a man 



278 

in power, that he drove away Demaratus, his fellow 
king, for they always had two, for offering to corrupt 
him in a cause before them, Lest, saith he, he should 
attempt others less able to resist him, and so ruin the 
state. 

Sect. 25. Dersyllidas perceiving that Pyrrhus 
would force a prince upon his countrymen the Lace- 
demonians, whom they lately ejected, stoutly opposed 
him, saying, if thou art God, we fear thee not, because 
we have done no evil ; and if thou art but a man, we 
are men too. 

Sect. 26. Hippodamus, seeing a young man asham- 
ed, that was caught in bad company, he reproved him 
sharply, saying. For time to come keep such company 
as thou needest not blush at. 

Sect. 27. Leonidas, brother to Oleomenes, and a 
brave man, being offered by Xerxes to be made an 
emperor of Greece, answered, I had rather die for my 
own country, than have an unjust command over other 
men's. Adding, Xerxes deceived himself, to think it 
a virtue to invade the right of other men. 

Sect. 28. Lysander, being asked by a person, 
what was the best frame of government ? That, saith 
he, where every man hath according to his deserts. 
Though one of the greatest captains that Sparta bred, 
he had learned by his wisdom to bear personal affronts : 
Say what thou wilt, saith he, to one that spoke abu- 
sively to him. Empty thyself, I shall bear it. His 
daughters were contracted in marriage to some persons 
of quality : but he dying poor, they refused to marry 
them ; upon which the Ephori condemned each of 
them in a great sum of money, because they preferred 
money before faith and engagement. 



279 

Sect. 29. ^ Pausanias, son of Cleombrotus, and 
colleague of Lysander, beholding among the Persian 
spoils they took, the costliness of their furniture, said, 
It had been much better if they had been Tforth less, 
and their masters more. And after the victory of 
Platea, having a dinner drest according to the Persian 
manner, and beholding the magnificence and furniture 
of the treat ; What, saith he, do these people mean, 
that live in such wealth and luxury, to attack our 
meanness and poverty ? 

Sect. 30. Theopompus saith, The way to preserve 
a kingdom is, to embrace the counsel of one's friends, 
and not to suffer the meaner sort to be oppressed. 
One making the glory of Sparta to consist in com- 
manding well, he answered. No, it is in knowing how 
to obey well. He was of opinion. That great honours 
hurt a state ; adding, That time would abolish great, 
and augment moderate, honours amojng men ; meaning 
that men should have the reputation they deserve, 
without flattery and excess. 

A rhetorician bragging himself of his art, was re- 
proved by a Lacedsemonian, Dost thou call that an 
art, saith he, which hath not truth for its object ? 
Also a Lacedsemonian being presented with an harp 
after dinner by a musical person, I do not, saith he, 
know how to play the fool. Another being asked. 
What he thought of a poet of the times, answered, 
Good for nothing but to corrupt youth. Nor was this 
only the wisdom and virtue of some particular persons, 
which may be thought to have given light to the dark 
body of their courts ; but their government was wise 
and just, and the people generally obeyed it ; making 
virtue to be true honour, and that honour dearer to 
them than life. 



280 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

Sect. 31. Lacedemonian customs, according to 
Plutarch were these : " They were very temperate in 
their eating and drinking, their most delicate dish 
being a pottage made for the nourishment of ancient 
people. They taught their children to write and read, 
to obey the magistrates, to endure labour, and to be 
bold in danger : the teachers of other sciences were 
not so much as admitted in Lacedsemonia. They had 
but one garment, and that new but once a year. They 
rarely used baths or oil, the custom of those parts of 
the world. Their youth lay in troops upon mats ; 
the boys and girls apart. They accustomed their 
youth to travel by night without light, to use them 
not to be afraid. The old governed the young ; and 
those of them who obeyed not the aged, were punished. 
It was a shame not to bear reproof among the youth ; 
and among the aged, matter of punishment not to give 
it. They made ordinary cheer, on purpose to keep 
out luxury ; holding, that mean fare kept the spirit 
free, and the body fit for action. The music they 
used was simple, without art of changings ; their songs 
composed of virtuous deeds of good men, and their 
harmony mixed with some religious ecstasies, that 
seemed to carry their minds above the fear of death. 
They permitted not their youth to travel, lest they 
should corrupt their manners ; and for the same reason, 
they permitted not strangers to dwell amongst them, 
that conformed not to their way of living. In this 
they were so strict, that such of their youth that 
were not educated in their customs, enjoyed not the 
privileges of natives. They would suffer neither come- 
dies nor tragedies to be acted in their country. They 
condemned a soldier but for painting his buckler of 



281 

several colours : and publicly punished a young man, 
for having learnt but the way to a town given to luxury. 
They also banished an orator for bragging that he 
could speak a whole day upon any subject ; for they 
did not like much speaking, much less for a bad cause. 
They buried their dead without any ceremony or su- 
perstition ; for they only used a red cloth upon the 
body, broidered with olive leaves : this burial had all 
degrees. Mourning they forbad, and epitaphs too. 
When they prayed to God, they stretched forth their 
arms ; which with them, was a sign that they must do 
good works, as well as make good prayers. They 
asked of God but two things, patience in labour, and 
happiness in well-doing." 

This account is mostly the same with Xenophon's : 
adding, " that they eat moderately and in common ; 
the youth mixed with the aged to awe them, and give 
them good example. That in walking, they would 
neither speak, nor turn their eyes aside, any more 
than if they were statues of marble. The men wer-e 
bred bashful as well as the women, not speaking at 
meals, unless they were asked a question. When they 
were fifteen years of age, instead of leaving them to 
their own conduct, as in other places, they had most 
care of their conversation, that they might preserve 
them from the mischiefs that age is incident to. And 
those that would not comply with these rules, were 
not counted always honest people. And in this their 
government was excellent : That they thought there 
was no greater punishment for a bad man, than to be 
known and used as such, at all times, and in all 
places : for they were not to come into the company 
of persons of reputation ; they were to give place to 



282 

all others ; to stand when others sat ; to be account- 
able to every honest man that met them, of their con- 
versation ; that thej must keep their poor kindred ; 
that they used not the same freedoms that honest 
people might use : by which means they kept virtue 
in credit, and vice in contempt. They used all things 
necessary for life, without superfluity, or want ; de- 
spising riches, and sumptuous apparel and living: 
judging, that the best ornament of the body is health; 
and of the mind virtue. And since (saith Xenophon) 
it is virtue and temperance that render us com- 
mendable, and that it is only the Lacedaemonians 
that reverence it publicly, and have made it the foun- 
dation of their state; their government, of right, 
merits preference to any other in the world. But 
that, saith he, which is strange, is, that all admire it, 
but none imitate it." Nor is this account and judg- 
ment fantastical. 

Sect. 32. Lycurgus, their famous founder and 
lawgiver instilled these principles, and by his power 
with them made them laws to rule them. Let us 
hear what he did: Lycurgus, willing to reclaim his 
citizens from a luxurious to a virtuous life, and shew 
them how much good conduct and honest industry 
might meliorate the state of mankind, applied him- 
self to introduce a new model of government, per- 
suading them to believe, that though they were de- 
scended of noble and virtuous ancestors, if they were 
not exercised in a course of virtue, they would, like 
the dog in the kitchen, rather leap at the meat, than 
run at the game. In fine, they agreed to obey him. 
The first thing then that he did, to try his power with 
them, was, to divide the land into equal portions, so 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 283 

that the whole Laconic country seemed but the lots of 
brethren. This grieved the rich ; but the poor, which 
were the most, rejoiced. He rendered wealth useless, 
by community ; and forbad the use of gold and silver: 
h« made money of iron, too base and heavy to make 
a thief : he retrenched their laws of building, suffering 
no more ornament than could be made with a hatchet 
and a saw : and their furniture was like their houses. 
This course disbanded many trades ; no merchant, no 
cook, no lawyer, no flatterer, no divine, no astrologer, 
was to be found in Lacedsemonia. Injustice was ban- 
ished their society, having cut up the root of it, which 
is avarice, by introducing a community, and making 
gold and silver useless. To prevent the luxury of 
tables as well as of apparel, he ordained public places 
of eating, where all should publicly be served; those 
that refused to come thither were reputed voluptuous, 
and reproved, if not corrected. He would have vir- 
gins labour, as well as young men, that their bodies 
being used to exercise might be the stronger and 
healthier, when married, to bring forth children. He 
forbad that they should have any portions, to the end 
that none might make suit to them for their wealth, 
but person and worth ; by which means the poor went 
oif as well as the rich : and that their virtue might 
prefer them, they were denied to use any ornaments. 
He would not let the young people marry, till they 
arrived at the flower of their age, to the end, that 
their children might be strong and vigorous. Chastity 
was so general, and so much in request, that no law 
w^as made against adultery ; believing, that where 
luxury, and the arts leading to it, were so severely 
forbid, it was needless. He forbad costly offerings in 



284 

the temple, that they might offer often ; for that God 
regardeth the heart, not the offering. These, and 
some more, were the laws he instituted ; and whilst 
the Spartans kept them, it is certain they were the 
first state of Greece, which lasted about five hundred 
years. It is remarkable that he would never suffer 
the laws to be written, to avoid barratry ; and that 
the judges might not be tied religiously to the letter 
of the law, but left to the circumstances of fact ; in 
which no inconvenience was observed to follow. 

II. The Romans also yield us instances to our point 
in hand. 

Sect. 33. Cato, that sage Roman, seeing a luxuri- 
ous man loaden with flesh, Of what service, saith he, 
can that man be, either to himself, or the common- 
wealth? One day beholding the statues of several 
persons erecting, that he thought little worthy of re- 
membrance, that he might despise the pride of it, I 
had rather, said he, they should ask, why they set not 
up a statue to Cato, than why they do. He was a 
man of severity of life, both example and judge. 
His competitors in the government, hoping to be pre- 
ferred, took the contrary humour, and mightily flat- 
tered the people : this good man despised their arts, 
and with an unusual fervency cried out. That the dis- 
tempers of the commonwealth did not require flatter- 
ers to deceive them, but physicians to cure them ; 
which struck so great an awe upon the people, that 
he was first chosen of them all. The fine dames 
of Rome became governors to their husbands ; he 
lamented the change, saying. It is strange that those 
who command the world should yet be subject to 
women. He thought those judges, that would not 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 285 

impartially punish malefactors, greater criminals than 
the malefactors themselves : a good lesson for judges 
of the world. He would say, That it was better to 
lose a gift than a correction ; for, says he, the one 
corrupts us, but the other instructs us. That we 
ought not to separate honour from virtue ; for then 
there would be few any more virtuous. He would say, 
No man is fit to command another, that cannot com- 
mand himself. Great men should be temperate in 
their power, that they may keep it. For men to be 
too long in offices in a government, is to have too 
little regard to others, or the dignity of the state. 
They that do nothing will learn to do evil. That 
those who have raised themselves by their vices should 
gain to themselves credit by virtue. He repented 
him, that ever he passed one day without doing good. 
And that there is no witness any man ought to fear, 
but that of his own conscience. Nor did his practice 
fall much short of his principles. 

Sect. 34. Scipio Africanus, though a great gene- 
ral, loaded with honours and triumphs, preferred re- 
tirement to them all ; being used to say. That he was 
never less alone than when he was alone : implying, 
that the most busy men in the world are the most 
destitute of themselves ; and that external solitari- 
ness gives the best company within. After he had 
taken Carthage, his soldiers brought him a most beau- 
tiful prisoner ; he answered, " I am your general ;" 
refusing to debase himself, or dishonour her. 

Sect. 35. Augustus, eating at the table of one of 
his friends, where a poor slave breaking a crystal 
vessel fell upon his knees, begging him, that his 
master might not fling him to the lampreys, as he had 



286 

used to do, for food, with such of them as offended 
him ; Augustus, hating his friend's cruelty, broke all 
his friend's crystal vessels, both reproving his luxury 
and his severity. He never recommended any of his 
own children, but he always added, if they deserve it. 
He reproved his daughter for her excess in apparel, 
and both rebuked and imprisoned her for her im- 
modest latitudes. The people of Rome complaining 
that wine was dear, he sent them to the fountains, 
telling them, They were cheap. 

Sect. 36. Tiberius would not suffer himself to be 
called Lord, nor yet His Sacred Majesty : For, says 
he, they are divine titles, and belong not to man. 
The commissioners of his treasury advising him to 
increase his taxes upon the people, he answered. No, 
it was fit to shear, but not to flay the sheep. 

Sect. 37. Yespasian was a great and an extraor- 
dinary man, v/ho maintained something of the Roman 
virtue in his time. One day seeing a young man 
finely dressed, and richly perfumed, he was displeased 
with him, saying, I had rather smell the poor man's 
garlic, than thy perfume ; and took his place and 
government from him. A certain person being 
brought before him, that had conspired against him, 
he reproved him, and said, That it was God v/ho gave 
and took away empires. Another time, conferring 
favour upon his enemy, and being asked why he did 
so ? he answered. That he should remember the right 
way. 

Sect. 38. Trajan would say. That it became an 
emperor to act towards his people, as he would have 
his people act towards him. The governor of Rome 
having delivered the sword into his hand, and created 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 287 

him emperor, Here, saith he, take it again : If I reign 
well, use it for me : if ill, use it against me. An ex- 
pression which shews great humility and goodness, 
making power subservient to virtue. 

Sect. 39. Adrian, also emperor, had several say- 
ings worthy of notice : one was, That a good prince 
did not think the estates of his subjects belonged to 
him. He would say, That kings should not always 
act the king : that is, should be just, and mix sweet- 
ness with greatness, and be conversible by good men. 
That the treasures of princes are like the spleen, that 
never swells but it makes other parts shrink : teaching 
princes thereby to spare their subjects. Meeting one 
that was his enemy before he was emperor, he cried 
out to him. Now thou hast no more to fear : inti- 
mating, that having power to revenge himself, he 
would rather use it to do him good. 

Sect. 40. Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, a good 
man, the Christians of his time felt it, commended his 
son for weeping at his tutor's death; answering those 
that would have rendered it unsuitable to his condition. 
Let him alone, says he, it is fit he should shew himself 
a man, before he be a prince. He refused to divorce 
his wife at the instigation of his courtiers, though re- 
puted naught ; answering, I must divorce the empire 
too ; for she brought it : refusing them, and defending 
his tenderness. He did nothing in the government 
without consulting his friends; and would say. It is 
more just that one should follow the advice of many, 
than many the mind of one. He was more philoso- 
pher than emperor; for his dominions were greater 
within than without : and having commanded his own 
passions by a circumspect conformity to virtuous prin- 



288 

ciples, he was fit to rule those of other men. Take 
some of his excellent sayings, as followeth. — Of my 
grandfather Verus I have learned to be gentle and 
meek, and to refrain from all anger and passion. 
From the fame and memory of him that begot me, 
shame-facedness and man-like behaviour. I observed 
his meekness, his constancy without wavering, in those 
things, which after a due examination and deliberation 
he had determined; how free from all vanity he carried 
himself in matter of honour and dignity ! his laborious- 
ness and assiduity ! his readiness to hear any man that 
had aught to say tending to any common good ! how he 
did abstain from all unchaste love of youth ! his mode- 
rate condescending to other men's occasions as an or- 
dinary man. Of my mother, to be religious and 
bountiful, and to forbear not only to do, but to intend 
any evil : to content myself with a spare diet, and to 
fly ail such excess as is incident to great wealth. Of 
my grandfather both to frequent public schools and 
auditories, and to get me good and able teachers at 
home ; and that I ought not to think much, if upon 
such occasions I were at excessive charge. I gave 
over the study of rhetoric and poetry, and of elegant 
neat language. I did not use to walk about the house 
in my senator's robe, nor to do any such things. I 
learned to write letters without any affectation and 
curiosity; and to be easy and ready to be reconciled, 
and well pleased again with them that had offended 
me, as soon as any of them would be content to seek 
unto me again. To observe carefully the several dis- 
positions of my friends, and not to be offended with 
idiots, nor unreasonably to set upon those that are car- 
ried away with the vulgar opinions, with the theorems 



289 

and tenets of philosophers. To love the truth and 
justice, and to be kind and loving to all them of my 
house and family, I learned from my brother Severus: 
and it was he^that put me in the first conceit and de- 
sire of an equal commonwealth, administered by justice 
and equality: and of a kingdom, wherein should be 
regarded nothing more than the good and welfare or 
liberty of the subjects. As for God, and such sug- 
gestions, helps and inspirations, as might be expected, 
nothing did hinder but that I might have begun long 
before to live according to nature. Or that even now, 
that I was not yet partaker, and in present possession 
of that life, that I myself, in that I did not observe 
those inward motions and suggestions ; yea, and al- 
most plain and apparent instructions and admonitions 
of God, w^as the only cause of it. I that understand 
the nature of that Avhich is good, that it is to be de- 
sired ; and of that which is bad, that it is odious and 
shameful : who know moreover, that this transgressor, 
whosoever he be, is my kinsman, not by the same 
blood and seed, but by participation of the same 
Reason, and of the same Divine Particle, or Principle : 
how can I either be hurt by any of these, since it is. 
not in their power to make me incur anything that is 
reproachful, or be angry and ill-affected towards him, 
who, by nature, is so near unto me ? for we are all 
born to be fellow-workers, as the feet, the hands, and 
the eye-lids ; as the rows of upper and under teeth : 
for such therefore to be in opposition, is against na- 
ture. He saith, it is high time for thee to understand 
the true nature, both of the world, whereof thou art a 
part, and of that Lord and Governor of the world, 
from whom, as a channel from the spring, thou thyself 
19 . 



290 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

didst flow. And that there is but a certain limit of 
time appointed unto thee, which if thou shalt not make 
use of, to calm and allay the many distempers of thy 
soul, it will pass away, and thou with it, and never 
after return. Do, soul, do abuse and contemn thyself 
yet a while ! and the time for thee to repent thyself 
will be at end! Every man's happiness depends upon 
himself: but behold, thy life is almost at an end, 
whilst, not regarding thyself as thou oughtest, thou 
dost make thy happiness to consist in the souls and 
conceits of other men. Thou must also take heed of 
another kind of wandering ; for they are idle in their 
actions who toil and labour in their life, and have no 
certain scope to which to direct all their motions and 
desires. As for life and death, honour and dis- 
honour, labour and pleasure, riches and poverty, all 
these things happen unto men indeed, both good and 
bad equally, but as things which of themselves are nei- 
ther good nor bad, because of themselves neither 
shameful nor praise-worthy. Consider the nature of 
all worldly visible things; of those especially, which 
either ensnare by pleasure, or for their irksomeness 
are dreadful, or for their outward lustre and shew are 
in great esteem and request ; how vile and contempti- 
ble, how base and corruptible, how destitute of all 
true life and being they are. There is nothing more 
wretched than that soul, which, in a kind of circuit, 
compasseth all things; searching even the very depths 
of all the earth, and, by all signs and conjectures, pry- 
ing into the very thoughts of other men's souls ; and 
yet of this is not sensible, that it is sufficient for a 
man to apply himself wholly, and confine all his 
thoughts and cares to the guidance of that Spirit 



291 

which is -within him, and truly and really serve him. 
For even the least things ought not to be done with- 
out relation to the end : and the end of the reasonable 
creature is, To follow and obey him who is the reason, 
as it were, and the law, of this great city and most 
ancient commonwealth. Philosophy doth consist in 
this : For a man to preserve that spirit which is with- 
in him from all manner of contumelies and injuries, 
and above all pains and pleasures ; never to do any 
thing either rashly, or feignedly, or hypocritically ; he 
that is such, is He surely ; indeed a very priest and 
minister of God; well acquainted, and in good corres- 
pondence, with him especially that is seated and placed 
within himself: to whom also he keeps and preserveth 
himself, neither spotted by pleasure, nor daunted by 
pain ; free from any manner of wrong or contumely. 
Let thy God that is in thee, to rule over thee, find by 
thee that he hath to do with a man, an aged man, a 
sociable man, a Roman, a prince, and that hath or- 
dered his life as one that expecteth, as it were, nothing 
but the sound of the trumpet, sounding a retreat to 
depart out of this life with all readiness. Never esteem 
of anything as profitable, which shall ever constrain 
thee either to break thy faith or to lose thy modesty; 
to hate any man, to suspect, to curse, to dissemble, to 
lust after anything that requireth the secret of walls 
or veils. But he that preferreth before all things his 
rational part and spirit, and the sacred mysteries of 
virtue which issue from it, we shall never want either 
solitude or company ; and, which is chiefest of all, he 
shall live without either desire or fear. If thou shalt 
intend that which is present, following the rule of right 
and reason, carefully, solidly, meekly ; and shalt not 



292 NO. CROSS, NO CROWN. 

intermix any other business ; but shalt study this, to 
preserve thy spirit unpolluted and pure ; and, as one 
that were even noAV ready to give up the ghost, shalt 
cleave mito him, without either hope or fear of 
anything, in all things that thou shalt either do or 
speak ; contenting thyself with heroical truth, thou 
shalt live happily ; and from this there is no man 
that can hinder thee. Without relation to God, 
thou shalt never perform aright anything human ; 
nor, on the other side, anything divine. At what 
time soever thou wilt, it is in thy power to retire 
into thyself, and to be at rest ; for a man cannot 
retire any whither to be more at rest, and freer 
from all business, than into his own soul. Afford 
then thyself this retiring continually, and thereby 
refresh and renew thyself. Death hangeth over thee 
whilst yet thou livest; and, whilst thou mayest be 
good. How much time and leisure doth he gain, who 
is not curious to know what his neighbour hath said, 
or hath done, or hath attempted, but only what he 
doeth himself, that it may be just and holy. Neither 
must he use himself to cut off actions only, but 
thoughts and imaginations also that are not necessary; 
for so will unnecessary consequent actions the better 
be prevented and cut off. He is poor that stands in 
need of another, and hath not in himself all things 
needful for his life. Consider well, whether magna- 
jiimity rather, and true liberty, and true simplicity, 
and equanimity, and holiness, whether these be not 
most reasonable and natural. Honour that which is 
chiefest and most powerful in the world, and that is it 
which makes use of all things, and governs all things* 
so also in thyself, honour that which is chiefest and 



293 

most powerful, and is of one kind and nature with 
that; for it is the very same, which being in thee, 
turneth all other things to its own use, and by whom 
also thy life is governed. What is it that thou dost 
stay for ; an extinction, or a translation ? for either 
of them, with a propitious and contented mind. But 
till that time come, what will content thee? what else, 
but to worship and praise God, and to do good unto 
men ? As he lay a-dying, and his friends about him, 
he spake thus : Think more of death than of me, and 
that you and all men must die, as well as I. Adding, 
I recommend my son to you, and to God, if he be 
worthy. 

Sect. 41. Pertinax, also emperor, being advised 
to save himself from the fury of the mutineers, an- 
swered, No, what have I done that I should do so ? 
shewing, that innocence is bold, and should never give 
ground w^here it can shew itself, be heard, and have 
fair play. 

Sect. 42. Pescennius, seeing the corruption that 
reigned among officers of justice, advised. That judges 
should have first salaries that they might do their 
duty without any bribes or perquisites. He said, He 
would not offend the living, that he might be praised 
when he was dead. 

Sect. 43. Alexander Severus, having tasted 
both of a private life, and the state of an emperor, 
had this censure. Emperors, says he, are ill managers 
of the public revenue, to feed so many unuseful mouths. 
Wherefore he retrenched his family from pompous to 
serviceable. He would not employ persons of quality 
in his domestic service, thinking it too mean for them, 
and too costly for him : adding, That personal service 



294 

was the work of the lowest order of the people. He 
would never suffer offices of justice to he sold : For, 
saith he, it is not strange that men should sell what 
they huy ; meaning justice. He was impartial in 
correction : Mj friends, says he, are dear to me, but 
the commonwealth is dearer. Yet he would say, That 
sweetening power to the people made it lasting. That 
we ought to gain our enemies, as we keep our friends; 
that is, by kindness. He said, that we ought to de- 
sire happiness, and to bear afflictions : that those 
things which are desirable may be pleasant ; but the 
troubles we avoid may have most profit in the end. 
He did not like pomp in religion ; for it is not gold 
that recommends the sacrifice, but the piety of him 
that offers it. An house being in contest betwixt 
some Christians and keepers of taverns, the one to 
perform religion, the other to sell drink therein, he 
decided the matter thus : That it were much better 
that it were any way employed to worship God, than 
to make a tavern of it. Behold ! by this we may see 
the wisdom and virtue that shined among Heathens. 

Sect. 44. Aurelianus, the emperor, having threat- 
ened a certain town that had rebelled against him. 
That he would not leave a dog alive therein ; and 
finding the fear he raised brought them easily to their 
duty, bid his soldiers go kill all their dogs, and pardon 
the people. 

Sect. 45. Dioclesian would say. That there was 
nothing more difficult than to reign well; and the 
reason he gave was. That those who had the ears of 
princes do so continually lay ambushes to surprise 
them to their interests, that they can hardly make 
one right step. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 295 

Sect. 46. Julian, coming to the empire, drove 
from the palace, troops of eunuchs, cooks, barbers, 
&c. His reason was this, That having no women he 
needed no eunuchs ; and loving simple plain meat, he 
needed no cooks : and he said. One barber would 
serve a great many. A good example for the luxuri- 
ous Christians of our times. 

Sect. 47. Theodosius the younger was so mer- 
ciful in his nature, that instead of putting people to 
death, he wished it were in his power to call the dead 
to life again. 

These were the sentiments of the ancient grandees 
of the world, to wit, emperors, kings, princes, cap- 
tains, statesmen, &c. not unworthy of the thoughts of 
persons of the same figure and quality now in being : 
and for that end they are here collected, that such 
may with more ease and brevity behold the true 
statues of the ancients, not lost, or lessened by the 
decays of time. 

III. I will now proceed to report the virtuous doc- 
trines and sayings of men of more retirement ; such 
as philosophers and writers, of both Greeks and Ro- 
mans, who in their respective times were masters in 
the civility, knowledge and virtue that were among 
the Gentiles, being most of them many ages before 
the coming of Christ. 

Sect. 48. Thales, an ancient Greek philosopher, 
being asked by a person that had committed adultery, 
if he might swear ? answered, By no means ; for per- 
jury is not less sinful than adultery ; and so thou 
wouldest commit two sins to cover one. Being asked, 
What was the best condition of a government, he an- 
swered, That the people be neither rich nor poor ; for 



296 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

he placed external happiness- in moderation. He 
would say, That the hardest thing in the world was, 
to know a man's self; but the best, to avoid those 
things which we reprove in others : an excellent and 
close saying. That we ought to choose well, and then 
to hold fast. That the felicity of the body consists in 
health, and that in temperance ; and the felicity of 
the soul in wisdom. He thought that God was with- 
out beginning or end ; that he was the searcher of 
hearts ; that he saw thoughts, as well as actions : for 
being asked of one, if he could sin and hide it from 
God? he answered, No, how can I, when he that 
thinks evil cannot. 

Sect. 49. Pythagoras, a famous and virtuous phi- 
losopher of Italy, being asked, when men might take 
the pleasure of their passions ? answered. When they 
have a mind to be worse. He said. The world was like 
a comedy, and the true philosophers the spectators. 
He would say, That luxury led to debauchery, and 
debauchery to violence, and that to bitter repentance. 
That he who taketh too much care of his body makes 
the prison of his soul more insufferable. That those 
who do reprove us are our best friends. That men 
ought to preserve their bodies from diseases by tem- 
perance ; their souls from ignorance by meditation ; 
their will from vice, by self-denial ; and their country 
from civil war, by justice. That it is better to be loved 
than feared. That virtue makes bold : But, saith he, 
there is nothing so fearful as an evil conscience. He 
said, That men should believe of a Divinity, that it is, 
and that it overlooks them, and neglecteth them not ; 
there is no being nor place without God. He told the 
senators of Orotonia (being two thousand) praying his 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 297 

advice, That they received their country as a deposi- 
tum or trust from the people ; wherefore they should 
manage it accordingly, since they were to resign their 
account, with their trust, to their own children. That 
the way to do it, was to be equal to all the citizens, 
and to excel them in nothing more than justice. That 
every one of them should so govern their family, that 
he might refer himself to his own house, as to a court 
of judicature, taking great care to preserve natural 
affection. That they be examples of temperance in 
their own families, and to the city. That in courts of 
judicature none attest God by an Oath, but use them- 
selves so to speak, as they may be believed without an 
oath. That the discourse of that philosopher is vain, 
by which no passion of man is healed : for, as there is 
no benefit of medicine, if it expel not diseases out of 
bodies ; so neither of philosophy, if it expel not evil 
out of the soul. Of Grod, an heavenly life and state, 
he saith thus, They mutually exhorted one another, 
that they should not tear asunder " God which is in 
them." Their study and friendship by words and ac- 
tions, had reference to some divine temperament; and 
to union with God, and to unity with the mind, and 
the Divine Soul. That all which they determine to 
be done aims and tends to the acknowledgment of the 
Deity. This is the principle ; and the whole life of 
man consists in this, " That he follow God ;" and this 
is the ground of philosophy. He saith, 

Hope all things ; for to none belongs despair : 
All things to God easy and perfect are. 

The work of the Mind is life. The work of God is 
immortality, eternal life. The Mind in man is termed 



298 

God, by participation : the rational soul is directed 
by the Mind, it inclines the will to virtue, and is 
termed the good Daemon, Genius, or Spirit. If by 
phantasy and ill affections, it draws the will to vices, 
the evil Daemon : whence Pythagoras desired of God, 
to keep us from evil, and to shew every one the 
Daemon or good Spirit, he ought to use. The ra- 
tional man is more noble than other creatures, as 
more divine ; not content solely with one operation, 
as all other things drawn along by nature, which 
always acts after the same manner, but endued with 
various gifts, which he useth according to his free 
will ; in respect of which liberty, 

Men are of heavenly race, 

Taught by Diviner Nature what t* embrace. 

By Diviner Nature, is meant the intellectual soul ; 
as to intellect, man approaches nigh to God ; as to 
inferior senses, he recedeth from God. By chorus, 
the infinite joy of the blessed spirits, their immutable 
delight, styled by Homer, aaSs^o? ye%u>g (inextinguish- 
able laughter). For what greater pleasure, than to 
behold the serene aspect of God, and next him the 
ideas and forms of all things, more purely and trans- 
parently, than secondarily, in created beings. The 
Pythagoreans had this distich, among those commonly 
called the Golden Verses : 

Rid of this body, if the heavens free 

You reach, henceforth immortal you shall be. 

Or thus : 

Who after death, arrived at th' heavenly plain, 
Ai'e straight like Gods, and never die again. 

Sect. 50. Solon, esteemed as Thales, one of the 
Seven Sages of Greece, a noble philosopher, and a 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 299 

lawgiver to the Athenians, was so humble, that he 
refused to be prince of that people, and voluntarily 
banished himself, when Pisistratus usurped the gov- 
ernment there; resolving never to out-live the laws 
and freedom of his country.^ He would say, that to 
make a government last, the magistrates must obey 
the laws, and the people the magistrates. It was his 
judgment, that riches brought luxury, and luxury 
brought tyranny. Being asked by Croesus, king of 
Lydia, when seated in his throne, richly clothed, and 
magnificently attended, if he had ever seen any 
thing more, glorious ? He answered. Cocks, peacocks, 
and pheasants ; by how much their beauty is natural. 
These undervaluing expressions of wise Solon meeting 
so pat upon the pride and luxury of Croesus, they 
parted : the one desirous of toys and vanities ; the 
other an example and instructor of true nobility and 
virtue, that contemned the king's effeminacy. An- 
other time Croesils asked him, who was the happiest 
man in the world ? expecting he should have said, 
Croesus, because the most famous for wealth in those 
parts ; he answered Tellus ; who, though poor, yet 
was an honest and good man, and contented with 
what he had: that after he had served the common- 
wealth faithfully, and seen his children and grand- 
children virtuously educated, died for his country in 
a good old age, and was carried by his children to his 
grave. ^ This much displeased Croesus, but he dis- 
sembled it. Whilst Solon recommended the happi- 
ness of Tellus, Croesus, moved, demanded whom ho 
assigned the next place to, making no question but 
himself should be named? Cleobis, saith he, and Bito; 

1 Plutiucb. Herod. 2 piutarcli. Laert. 



300 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

brethren that loved well, had a competency, were of 
great health and strengtli, most tender and obedient 
to their mother, religious of life ; who, after sacri- 
ficing in the temple, fell asleep, and waked no more. 
Hereat Croesus, growing angry, Strange ! saith he ; 
doth our happiness seem so despicable, that thou wilt 
not rank us equal with private persons ? Solon an- 
swered. Dost thou inquire of us about human affairs ? 
knowest thou not, that Divine Providence is severe, 
and often full of alteration ? Do not we, in process of 
time ; see many things we would not ? Aye, and 
suffer many things we would not ? Count man's life 
at seventy years, which make' twenty-six thousand 
two hundred and fifty and odd days, there is 
scarcely one day like another ; so that every one, 
Croesus, is attended with crosses. Thou appearest 
to me very rich, and king over many people ; but the 
question thou askest, I cannot resolve, till I hear 
thou hast ended thy days happily ; for he that hath 
much wealth is not happier than he that gets his 
bread from day to day ; unless Providence continue 
those good things, and that he dieth well. In every 
thing, king, we must have regard to the end ; for 
man, to whom God dispenseth worldly good things, he 
at last utterly deserts. Solon, after his discourse, 
not flattering Croesus, was dismissed, and accounted 
unwise, that he neglected the present good, out of 
regard to the future. iEsop, that wrote the Fables, 
being then at Sardis, sent for thither by Croesus, and 
much in favour with him, was grieved to see Solon so 
un thankfully dismissed ; and said to him, Solon, We 
must either tell kings nothing at all, or what may 

1 Accordico; to the Athenian account. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 301 

please them : No, saith Solon-, either nothing at all, 
or what is best for them. However, it was not long 
ere Croesus was of another mind ; for being taken 
prisoner bj Cyrus, the founder of the Persian mo- 
narchy, and by his command fettered and put on a 
pile of wood to be burned, Croesus sighed deeply, and 
cried, Solon, Solon ! Cyrus bid the interpreter ask 
on whom he called ? He was silent ; but at last press- 
ing him answered, Upon him, whom I desire, above 
all wealth, to have spoken with all tyrants. This 
not understood, upon farther importunity he told 
them, Solon, an Athenian ; who long since, says he, 
came to me, and seeing my wealth, despised it ; be- 
sides ; Avhat he told me is come to pass : nor did his 
counsel belong to me alone, but to all mankind, espe- 
cially those that think themselves happy. Whilst 
Croesus said thus, the fire began to kindle, and the 
out-parts to be seized by the flame : Cyrus, informed 
of the interpreters what Croesus said, began to be 
troubled ; and knowing himself to be a man, and that 
to use another, not inferior to himself in wealth, so 
severely, might one day be retaliated, instantly com- 
manded the fire to be quenched, and Croesus and his 
friends to be brought off; whom, ever after, as long 
as he lived, Cyrus had in great esteem.^ Thus Solon 
gained due praise, that of two kings ; his advice 
saved one, and instructed the other. And as it was 
in Solon's time that Tragical plays were first invented, 
so was he most severe against them ; foreseeing the 
inconveniences that followed, upon the people's being 
affected with that novelty of pleasure. It is reported 
of him, that he went himself to the play, and after it 

^ Ilerodot. Halicar. 



302 

was ended, he went to 'Thespis, the great actor, and 
asked him, if he were not ashamed to tell so many 
lies in the face of so great an auditory ? Thespis an- 
swered, as it is now usual, There is no harm nor shame 
to act such things in jest. Solon striking his staff 
hard upon the ground, replied. But in a short time, 
we who approve of this kind of jest shall use it in 
earnest in our common affairs and contracts. In fine, 
he absolutely forbad him to teach or act plays : con- 
ceiving them deceitful and unprofitable ; diverting 
youth and tradesmen from more necessary and virtu- 
ous employments. He defined them happy, who are 
competently furnished with their outward callings, 
that live temperately and honestly. He would say. 
That cities are the common shore of wickedness. He 
affirmed that to be the best family, which got not un- 
justly, kept not unfaithfully, spent not with repent- 
ance. Observe, saith he, honesty in thy conversation, 
" more strictly than an Oath." Seal words with si- 
lence ; silence with opportunity. Never lie, but speak 
the truth. Fly pleasure, for it brings sorrow. Ad- 
vise not the people what is most pleasant, but what is 
best. Make not friends in haste, nor hastily part 
with them. Learn to obey, and thou wilt know how 
to command. Be arrogant to none ; be mild to those 
that are about thee. Converse not with wicked per- 
sons. Meditate on serious things. Beverence thy 
parents. Cherish thy friend. Conform to . reason ; 
and in all things take counsel of God^ In fine, his 
"two short sentences were these, Of nothing too 
much ; and, know thyself.^ 

Sect. 51. Chilon, another of the wise men of 

t Stob. Sent. 3 Clem. Alex. Strom. 1. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. ' 303 

Greece, would say, That it was the perfection of a 
man to foresee and prevent mischiefd. That herein 
good people differ from bad ones, their hopes were 
firm and assured. That God was the great touch- 
stone, or rule of mankind. That men's tongues ought 
not to outrun their judgment. That we ought not to 
flatter great men, lest we exalt them above their merit 
and station ; nor to speak hardly of the helpless. 
They that would govern a state well, must govern 
their families well. He would say, That a man ought 
so to behave himself, that he fall neither into hatred 
nor disgrace. That that commonwealth is happiest, 
where the people mind the law more than the lawyers. 
Men should not forget the favours they receive, nor 
remember those they do. Three things he said were 
diflBcult, yet necessary to be observed. To keep se- 
crets, forgive injuries, and use time well. Speak not 
ill, says he, of thy neighbour. Go slowly to the feasts 
of thy friends, but swiftly to their troubles. Speak 
well of the dead. Shun busy-bodies. Prefer loss 
before covetous gain. Despise not the miserable. If 
powerful, behave thyself mildly, that thou mayest be 
loved, rather than feared. Order thy house well : 
bridle thy anger: grasp not at much: make not haste, 
neither doat upon any thing below. A prince, saith 
he, must not take up his time about transitory and 
mortal things ; eternal and immortal are fittest for 
him. To conclude: he was so just in all his actions, 
that Laertius tells us, he professed in his old age, that 
he had never done any thing contrary to the con- 
science of an upright man; only that of one thing he 
was doubtful, having given sentence against his friend, 
according to law, he advised his friend to appeal from 



ao4 

him, his judge, so to preserve both his friend and the 
law. Thus true and tender was conscience in Heathen 
Chilon. 

Sect. 52. Pbriander, a prince and philosopher 
too, would say, That pleasures are mortal, but virtues 
immortal. In success be moderate ; in disappoint- 
ments, patient and prudent. Be alike to thj friends, 
in prosperity and in adversity. Peace is good ; rash- 
ness dangerous ; gain, sordid. Betray not secrets. 
Punish the guilty. Restrain men from sin. They 
that would rule safely must be guarded by love, not 
arms. To conclude, saith he, live worthy of praise, 
so wilt thou die blessed.^ 

Sect. 53. Bias, one of the Seven Wise men, being 
in a storm with wicked men, who cried mightily to 
God ; Hold your tongues, saith he, it were better he 
knew not you were here '? a saying that hath great 
doctrine in it ; the devotion of the wicked doeth them 
no good : it answers to that passage in scripture, 
" The prayers of the wicked are an abomination to 
the Lord."^ An ungodly man asking him, What god- 
liness was ? he was silent ; but the other murmuring, 
saith he. What is that to thee ? that is not thy con- 
cern. He was so tender in his nature, that he sel- 
dom judged any criminal to death, but he wept ; add- 
ing. One part goeth to God, and that other part I 
must give the law. That man is unhappy, saith he, 
that cannot bear affliction. It is a disease of the 
mind, to desire that which cannot, or is not fit to be 
had. It is an ill thing not to be mindful of other 
men's miseries. To one who asked. What is hard ? 
he answered, To bear cheerfully a change for the 

' Baart. Suid. Protag. Stob. 2 S. ^ L^ert. Stob. a Prov. xv. 8. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 805 

worse. Those, says lie, wlio busy themselves in vain 
knowledge, resemble owls that see by night, and are 
blind by day ; for they are sharp-sighted in vanity, 
but dark at the approach of true light and knowledge. 
He adds. Undertake deliberately; but then go through. 
Speak not hastily, lest thou sin. Be neither silly nor 
subtle. Hear much ; speak little, and seasonably. 
Make profession of God every where ; and impute 
the good thou doest, not to thyself, but to the power 
of God. His country being invaded, and the people 
flying with the best of their goods, asked. Why he 
carried none of his ? I, saith he, carry my goods 
within me. Valerius Maximus adds. In his breast ; 
not to be seen by the eye, but to be prized by the soul ; 
not to be demolished by mortal hands ; present with 
them that stay, and not forsaking those that fly. 

Sect. 54. Cleobulus, a prince and philosopher of 
Lyndus. He would say, That it was man's duty to 
be always employed upon something that was good. 
Again, Be never vain nor ungrateful. Bestow your 
daughters virgins in years, but n^atrons in discretion. 
Do good to thy friend, to keep him ; to thy enemy, to 
gain him. When any man goeth forth, let him con- 
sider what he hath to do ; when he returneth, examine 
what he hath done. Know, that to reverence thy 
father is thy duty. Hear willingly, but trust not 
hastily. Obtain by persuasion, not by violence. Being 
rich, be not exalted ; poor, be not dejected. Forego 
enmity : instruct thy children : pray to God, and 
persevere in godliness.^ 

Sect. 55. Pittacus being asked. What was the 
best? he answered. To do the present thing well. He 

1 Laert. Plut. Sympos. Sap. Sep. Stob. Ser. 

20 



306 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

•would say, What thou dost take ill in thj neighbour, 
do not thyself. Reproach not the unhappy ; for the 
hand of God is upon them. Be true to thy trust. 
Bear with thy neighbour ; love thy neighbour. Re- 
proach not thy friend, though he recede from thee a 
little. He would say. That commonwealth is best 
ordered, where the wicked have no command; and 
that family, which hath neither ornament nor neces- 
sity. To conclude: he advised to acquire honesty; 
love discipline ; observe temperance ; gain prudence ; 
mind diligence ; and keep truth, faith, and piety. He 
had a brother, who dying without issue, left him his 
estate ; so that when Croesus offered him wealth, he 
answered, I have more by half than I desire. He 
also affirmed. That family the best, who got not un- 
justly, kept not unfaithfully, spent not with repent- 
ance : and, That happiness consists in a virtuous and 
honest life, with being content with a competency of 
outward things, and in using them temperately. And 
to conclude, he earnestly enjoined all to flee corporeal 
pleasure ; for, says he, it certainly brings sorrow : 
but to observe an honest life more strictly than an 
oath ; and meditate on serious things.* 

Sect. 56. Hippias, a philosopher : It is recorded 
of him, that he would have every one provide his own 
necessaries ; and, that he might do what he taught, 
he was his own tradesman. He was singular in all 
such arts and employments, insomuch that he made 
the very buskins he wore.^ A better life than an 
Alexander's. 

Sect. 57. The Gymnosophist^ were a sect of phi- 
losophers in Egypt, that so despised gaudy apparel, 

1 Plutarch. Stob. 28. 2 Cic. lib. de Orat. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 307 

and the rest of the world's intemperance, that they 
■went almost naked ; living poorly, and with great 
meanness : by which they were enabled against all 
cold, and overcame that lust by innocence, which 
people, that are called Christians, though covered, are 
overcome withal.^ 

Sect. 58. The Bambycatii were a certain great peo- 
ple that inhabited about the river Tigris, in Asia; who 
observing the great influence gold, silver, and pre- 
cious jewels had upon their minds, agreed to bury all 
in the earth, to prevent the corruption of their man- 
ners. They used inferior metals, and lived with very 
ordinary accommodation ; wearing mostly but one 
very grave and plain robe to cover nakedness. It 
were well, if Christians would mortify their unsati- 
able appetites after wealth and vanity any way, for 
Heathens judge their excess.^ 

Sect. 59. The Athenians had two distinct numbers 
of men, called the Gynsecosmi and Gynseconomi. 
These were appointed by the magistrates to overlook 
the actions of the people : the first was to see that 
they apparelled and behaved themselves gravely ; es- 
pecially that women were of modest behaviour : and 
the other was to be present at their treats and festi- 
vals, to see that there was no excess, nor disorderly 
carriage : and in case any were found criminal, they 
had full power to punish them.-'' When, alas ! when 
shall this care and wisdom be seen among the Christ- 
ians of these times, that so intemperance might be 
prevented ? But it is too evident they love the power 
and the profits, but despise the virtue of government ; 
making it an end, instead of a means to that happy 

1 Plin. 7. 2 Cic. Tusc. Quest. 5. 2 pijn. 3 yid. Suid. 



808 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

end, viz. The well-ordering the manners and conver- 
sation of the people, and equally distributing rewards 
and punishments. 

Sect. 60. Anacharsis, a Scythian, was a great 
philosopher; Croesus offered him large sums of money, 
but he refused them. Hanno did the like ; to whom 
he answered, My apparel is a Scythian rug; my shoes 
the hardness of my feet; my bed, the earth; my sauce, 
hunger : you may come to me as one that is content- 
ed ; but those gifts which you so much esteem, bestow 
either on your citizens, or in sacrifice to the immortal 
Gods.^ 

Sect. 61. Anaxagoras, a nobleman, but true phi- 
losopher, left his great patrimony to seek out wisdom : 
and being reproved by his friends for the little care he 
had of his estate, answered, It is enough that You care 
for it. One asked him. Why he had no more love for 
his country than to leave it ? Wrong me not, saith he, 
my greatest care is my country, pointing his finger to- 
wards heaven. Returning home, and taking a view of 
his great possessions. If I had not disregarded them, 
saith he, I had perished. He was a great clearer and 
improver of the doctrine of One Eternal God, denying 
divinity to sun, moon, and stars ; saying, God was in- 
finite, not confined to place ; the Eternal Wisdom and 
Efficient Cause of all things ; the Divine Mind and 
Understanding ; who, when matter was confused, 
came and reduced it to order, which is the world we 
see.* He suffered much from some magistrates for his 
opinion; yet, dying, was admired by them: his epi- 
taph in English thus : 

' Cic. Tus. Quest. 5. Clem. Alex. Strob. 

2 Plut. contra Usur. Lysand. Cic. Tus. Quest. 5. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 309 

Here lies, who through the truest paths did pass 
To th' world celestial Anaxagoras. 

Sect. 62. Heraclitus was invited by king Darius, 
for his great virtue and learning, to this effect: Come, 
as soon as thou canst, to my presence and royal pa- 
lace ; for the Greeks, for the most part, are not ob- 
sequious to wise men, but despise the good things 
which they deliver. With me thou shalt have the 
first place, and daily honour and titles : thy way of 
living shall be as noble as thy instructions. But 
Heraclitus refusing his offer returned this answer ; 
Heraclitus to Darius the king, health. Most men re- 
frain from justice and truth, and pursue insatiableness 
and vain-glory, by reason of their folly; but I, having 
forgot all evil, and shunning the society of inbred 
envy and pride, will never come to the kingdom of 
Persia, being contented with a little, according to my 
own mind. He also slighted the Athenians. He had 
great and clear apprehensions of the nature and power 
of God, maintaining his divinity against the idolatry 
in fashion. This definition he gives of God ; He is 
not made with hands. The whole world, adorned with 
his creatures, is his mansion. Where is God ? Shut 
up in temples ? Impious men ! who place their God 
in the dark. It is a reproach to a man, to tell him he 
is a stone; yet the God you profess is born of a rock. 
You ignorant people ! you know not God : his works 
bear witness of him. Of himself he saith, ye men, 
will ye not learii why I never laugh ? it is not that I 
hate men, but their wickedness. If you would not 
have me weep, live in peace : you carry swords in 
your tongues ; you plunder wealth, ravish women, 
poison friends, betray the trust people repose in you: 



310 

shall I laugli, when I see men do these things ? their 
garments, beards, and heads, adorned with unneces- 
sary care ; a mother deserted bj a wicked son ; or 
young meil consuming their patrimony; a citizen's 
wife taken from him ; a virgin ravished; a concubine 
kept as a wife ; others filling their bellies at feasts, 
more with poison than with dainties ? Virtue would 
strike me blind, if I should laugh at your wars. By 
music, pipes, and stripes, you are excited to things 
contrary to all harmony. Iron, a metal more proper 
for ploughs and tillages, is fitted for slaughter and 
death ; men, raising armies of men, covet to kill one 
another ; and punish men that quit the field for not 
staying to murder men. They honour as valiants, 
such as are drunk with blood; but lions, horses, 
eagles, and other creatures, use not swords, bucklers, 
and instruments of war: their limbs are their weapons, 
some their horns, some their bills, some their wings ; 
to one is given swiftness ; to another, bigness ; to a 
third swimming. No irrational creature useth a 
sword, but keeps itself within the laAvs of its Creation; 
except Man, that doeth not so ; which brings the 
heavier blame, because he hath the greatest under- 
standing. You must leave your wars and your wick- 
edness, which you ratify by a law, if you would have 
me leave my severity. I have overcome pleasure, I 
have overcome riches, I have overcome ambition, I 
have mastered flattery : fear hath nothing to object 
against me, drunkenness hath nothing to charge upon 
me, anger is afraid of me : I have won the garland, 
in fighting against these enemies. — This, and much 
more did he write in his epistles to Hermodoras, of 
his complaints against the great degeneracy of the 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 311 

Epliesians. And in an epistle to Aphidamus, he writes 
I am fallen sick, Aphidamus, of a dropsy. Whatso- 
ever is of us, if it get the dominion, it becomes a dis- 
ease. Excess of heat is a fever ; excess of cold, a 
palsy; excess of wind, a colic: my disease cometh 
from excess of moisture. The soul is something di- 
vine, which keeps all these in a due proportion. I 
know the nature of the world ; I know that of man ; 
I know diseases ; I know health : I will cure myself, 
"I will imitate God," who makes equal the inequali- 
ties of the world. But if my body be overpressed, it 
must descend to the place ordained; however, my soul 
shall not descend ; but being a thing immortal, shall 
ascend on high, where an heavenly mansion shall re- 
ceive me. — A most weighty and pathetical discourse : 
they that know anything of God, may savour some- 
thing divine in it. Oh ! that the degenerate Christians 
of these times would but take a view of the virtue, tem- 
perance, zeal, piety, and faith of this Heathen, who, 
notwithstanding that he lived five hundred years be- 
fore the coming of Christ in the flesh, had these 
excellent sentences ! Yet again ; he taught that God 
punisheth not by taking away riches ; he rather al- 
loweth them to the wicked to discover them ; for 
poverty may be a veil. Speaking of God, How can 
that light which never sets, be ever hidden or ob- 
scured ? Justice, saith he, shall seize one day upon 
defrauders and witnesses of false things. Unless a 
man hopes to the end, for that which is to be hoped 
for, he shall not find that which is unsearchable ; 
which Clemens, an ancient father, applied to Isa. vi. 
" Unless you believe, you shall not understand." 
Heraclitus derided the sacrifices of creatures : Do you 



312 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

think, saith he, to pacify God, and cleanse yourselves, 
by polluting yourselves with blood? as if a man should 
go into the dirt to cleanse himself. Which shewed a 
sight of a more spiritual worship, than that of the 
sacrifices of beasts. He lived solitary in the mount- 
ains ; had a sight of his end : and as he was prepared 
for it, so he rejoiced in it. These certainly w^ere 
the men, " who having not a law without them, be- 
came a law unto themselves, shewing forth the work 
of the law written in their hearts ."^ And who, for 
that reason, shall judge the circumcision, and receive 
the reward of "Well done," by him who is judge of 
quick and dead. > 

Sect. 63. Democritus would say. That he had 
lived to an extraordinary age, by keeping himself 
from luxury and excess. That a little estate went a 
great way with men that were neither covetous nor 
prodigal. That luxury furnished great tables with 
variety ; and temperance furnisheth little ones. That 
riches do not consist in the possession, but right use 
of wealth. He was a man of great retirement, avoid- 
ing public honours and employments : bewailed by the 
people of Abdera as mad, whilst indeed he only 
smiled at the madness of the world. 

Sect. 64.- Socrates, the most religious and learned 
philosopher of his time, and of whom it is reported 
Apollo gave this character, That he was the wisest 
man on earth, was a man of a severe life, and instructed 
people gratis in just, grave and virtuous manners : 
for which being envied by Aristophanes, the vain 
comical wit of that age, as one spoiling the trade of 
plays, and exercising the generality of the people 

Rom. ii. 14. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 313 

with more no\le and virtuous things ; he was repre- 
sented by him in a play, in which he rendered So- 
crates SO ridiculous, that the vulgar would rather part 
with Socrates in earnest, than Socrates in jest ; which 
made way for their impeaching him, as an enemy to 
their gods ; for which they put him to death. But in 
a short space, his eighty judges, and the whole people, 
so deeply repented the loss, that they slew many of 
his accusers : some hanged themselves ; none would 
trade with them, nor answer them a question. They 
erected several statues to his praise; they forbade his 
name to be mentioned, that they might forget their 
injustice : they called home his banished friends and 
scholars. And, by the most wise and learned men of 
that age, it is observed, that famous city was punished 
with the most dreadful plagues, that ever raged 
amongst them ; and all Greece, with it, never pros- 
pered in any considerable undertaking; but from that 
time always decayed.^ Amongst many of his sober 
and religious maxims, upon which he was accustomed 
to discourse with his disciples, these are some : 

He taught every where, that an upright man, and 
an happy man, are all one. They that do good, are 
employed : they that spend their time in recreations, 
are idle. To do good is the best course of life ; he 
only is idle, who might be better employed. An horse 
is not known by his furniture, but qualities ; so men 
are to be esteemed for virtue, not wealth. Being 
asked, who lived without trouble ? he answered. Those 
who are conscious to themselves of no evil thing. To 
one who demanded, What was nobility ? he answered, 

1 Plat. Apolog. Diog. Laert. Helvic. Cic. Tus. Quest. 1. Xenoph. Brut 
Cic. Orat. Liban. Apol. Yarro, Hist, Schol. Arist. 



314 

A good temper and disposition of soul and body. 
They who know what they ought to do, and do it not, 
are not wise and temperate, but fools and stupid. To 
one that complained, he had not been benefited by 
his travels : Not without reason, says Socrates, thou 
didst travel with thy Self; intimating, he knew not 
the eternal Mind of God to direct and inform him. 
Being demanded, What wisdom was? said, A virtu- 
ous composure of the soul. And being asked, Who 
were wise ? answered, Those that sin not. Seeing a 
young ma^n rich, but ignorant of heavenly things, and 
pursuing earthly pleasures ; Behold, says he, a golden 
slave. Soft ways of living beget neither a good con- 
stitution of body nor mind. Fine and rich clothes 
are only for comedians. Being demanded from what 
things men and women ought to refrain? he answered. 
Pleasure. Being asked. What continence and tem- 
perance were ? he said, Government of corporeal de- 
sires and pleasures. The wicked live to eat, &c. but 
the good eat to live. Temperate persons become the 
most excellent ; eat that which neither hurts the body 
nor mind, and which is easy to be gotten. One say- 
ing. It was a great matter to abstain from what one 
desires : But, says he, it is better not to desire at all. 
[This is deep religion, even very hard to professed 
Christians.] " It is the property of God, to need no- 
thing ; and they that need, and are contented with 
least, come nearest to God. The only and best way 
to worship God, is to mind and obey whatsoever he 
commands. That the souls of men and women par- 
take of the Divine Nature. That God is seen of the 
virtuous mind. That by waiting upon him, they are 
united unto him, in an inaccessible place of purity and 



315 

happiness. Which God, he asserted always to be near 
him."^ 

Many more are the excellent sayings of this great 
man, who was not less famous for his sayings, than 
his example, with the greatest nations ; yet died he a 
sacrifice to the sottish fury of the vain world. The 
history of his life reports, that his father was told, He 
should have the Guide of his life "within him, which 
should be more to him than five hundred masters ; 
which proved true : instructing his scholars herein, 
charging them not to neglect these divine affairs, 
which chiefly concern man, to mind or inquire after 
such things as are without in the visible world. He 
taught the use of outward things only as they were 
necessary to life and commerce ; forbidding superflui- 
ties and curiosities.^ He was martyred for his doc- 
trine, after having lived seventy years the most ad- 
mired, followed, and visited, of all men in his time, 
by kings and commonwealths ; and than whom anti- 
quity mentions none with more reverence and honour. 
Well were it for poor England, if her conceited 
Christians were true Socrateses ; whose strict, just, 
and self-denying life doth not bespeak him more 
famous, than it will Christians infamous at the reve- 
lation of the righteous judgment ; where Heathens' 
virtue shall aggravate Christians' intemperance ; and 
their humility, the others' excessive pride : and justly 
too, since a Greater than Socrates is come, whose 
name they profess, but they will not obey his law.^ 

1 Clem. Alex. Strom, 2, 417. Xen. Mem. 3. p. 720. Xen. Mem. 3, p. 
778, 779, 780. Stob. Ech. Strom. 1, 11. Stob. 4, 6. Stob. 2, 18. 
Xenopb. Mem. 3. Senec. Epist. 1, 103. Stob. 28. Stob. 32. Xen. 
Mem. 1. ^lian. 9. Stob. 37. Stob. 87. Xen. Mem. 3, 4. ^Uan. 
Yar. Hist. 9. Stob. 37. Xenoph. Mem. 4, 802. Plat. Phjed. 

' Xen. Mom. 1, p. 710. ' Xen. Mem. 4. Plato, de Legib. 



316 ^ NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

Sect. 65. Plato, that famous philosopher and scho- 
lar to Socrates, was so grave, and devoted to divine 
things, nay, so discreetly politic, that in his common- 
wealth he would not so much as harbour poetical fan- 
cies, much less open stages as being too effeminate, 
and apt to withdraw the minds of youth from more 
noble, more manly, as well as more heavenly exer- 
cises.* Plato, seing a young man play at dice, re- 
proved him sharply ; the other answered. What ! for 
so small a matter ? Custom, saith Plato, is no small 
thing: let idle hours be spent more usefully. Let 
youth, saith he, take delight in good things; for plea- 
sures are the baits of evil. Observe ; the momentary 
sweetness of a delicious life is followed with eternal 
sorrow ; the short pain of the contrary with eternal 
pleasure.^ Being commanded to put on a purple gar- 
ment by the king of Sicily, he refused, saying, He 
was a man, and scorned such effeminacies. Invitino: 
Timothy, the Athenian general, to supper, he treated 
him with herbs, water, and such spare diet as he was 
accustomed to eat. Timothy's friends next day, 
laughing, asked, how he was entertained? he an- 
swered, Never better in his life ; for he slept all night 
after his supper: thereby commending his temperance. 
He addicted himself to religious contemplations ; and 
is said to have lived a virtuous and single life, always 
eyeing and obeying the Mind, which he sometimes 
called God, the Father of all things ; affirming, Who 
lived so, should become like him, and so be related to, 
and joined with, the Divinity itself.' This same 
Plato, upon his dying-bed, sent for his friends about 
him, and told them, the whole world was out of the 

1 Plato, de Rep. * Diog. Laert. in vit. Xen. Crat. Stob. -^liaii. 

' Alcinous. 



317 

way, in that thev understood not, nor regarded, the 
Mind, that is, God, or the word, or Begotten of God, 
assuring them, Those men died most comfortably, that 
lived most conformable to Right Reason, and sought 
and adored the First Cause, meaning God. 

Sect. 66. Antisthenes, an Athenian Philosopher, 

' had taught in the study of eloquence several years ; 
but^upon hearing Socrates treat of the seriousness of 

^ religion, of the divine life, eternal rewards, &;c. " bade 
all his scholars seek them a new master ; for he had 
found one for himself." Wherefore selling his estate, 
he distributed it to the poor, and betook himself wholly 
to the consideration of heavenly things ; going cheer- 
fully six miles every day to hear Socrates.^ — But 
where are the like preachers and converts amongst the 
people called Christians ? Observe the daily pains of 
Socrates ; surely he did not study a week to read a 
written sermon : we are assured of the contrary ; for 
it was frequent with him to preach to the people, at 
any time of the day, in the very streets, as occasion 
served, and his Good Genius moved him. Neither 
was he an hireling, or covetous ; for he did it gratis : 
surely then he had not fat benefices, tithes, glebes, &c. 
And let the self-denial and diligence of Antisthenes be 
considered, who, of a philosopher and master, became 
a scholar, and that a daily one : surely, it was then 
matter of reproach, as it is now : shewing thereby 
both want of knowledge, though called a philosopher, 
and his great desire to obtain it of one that could 
teach him. None of these used to go to plays, balls, 
treats, &c. They found more serious employments 
for their minds, and were examples of temperance to 

^ Laert. vit. Socr. ^lian. 



318 

the world. I will repeat some of his grave sentences, 
as reported by Laertius and others, namely, That 
those only are noble who are virtuous. That virtue 
was self-sufficient to happiness. That it consisteth in 
actions, not requiring many words, nor much learning, 
and is self-sufficient to wisdom : for that all other 
things have reference thereunto. That men should 
not govern by force, nor by laws, unless good, but by 
justice. To a friend complaining he had lost his notes. 
Thou shouldest have writ them upon thy mind, saith 
he, and not in a book. Those who would never die, 
must live justly and piously. Being asked. What 
learning was best ? That saith he, which unlearneth 
evil. To one that praised a life full of pleasures and 
delicacies : Let the sons of my enemies, saith he, live 
delicately: counting it the greatest misery. We ought, 
says he, to aim at such pleasures as follow honest 
labour ; and not those which go before it.^ When at 
any time he saw a woman richly dressed, he would, in 
a way of reproach, bid her husband bring out his horse 
and arms : meaning, if he were prepared to justify 
the injuries such wantonness useth to produce, he 
might the better allow those dangerous freedoms : 
otherwise, saith he, pluck off herxrich and gaudy at- 
tire. He is said to exclaim bitterly against pleasures; 
often saying, I had rather be mad, than addicted to 
pleasure, and spend my days in decking and feeding 
my carcass. Those, says he, who have once learned 
the way to temperance and virtue, let them not offer 
to entangle themselves again with fruitless stories, 
and vain learning ; nor be addicted to corporeal deli- 
cacies, which will dull the mind, and will divert and 

I Stob. ibid. 117. Diopr. Laert 



NO CKOSS, NO CROWN. 319 

hinder them from the pursuit of those more noble and 
heavenly virtues.^ Upon the death of his beloved 
master, Socrates, he instituted a sect called Cynics ; 
out of whom came the great sect of the Stoics : both 
which had these common principles, which they daily, 
with great and unwearied diligence, did maintain, and 
instruct people in the knowledge of, viz. No man is 
wise or happy, but the good and virtuous man. That 
not much learning, nor study of many things, was 
necessary. That a wise man is never drunk nor mad : 
that he never sinneth. That a wise man is void of 
passion ; that he is sincere, religious, grave : that he 
only is divine. That such only are priests and pro- 
phets, who have God in themselves. And that his 
law is imprinted in their minds, and the minds of all 
men. That such an one only can pray ; is innocent, 
meek, temperate, ingenuous, noble; a good magistrate, 
father, son, master, servant, and worthy of praise. 
On the contrary, that wicked men can be none of 
these. "That the same belongs to men and women. "^ 
Their diet was slender, their food only what would 
satisfy nature. Their garments exceeding mean. 
Their habitations solitary and homely. They affirmed, 
those who lived with fewest things, and were contented, 
most nearly approached God, who wants nothing. 
They voluntarily despised riches, glory, and nobility, 
as foolish shews, and vain fictions, that had no true 
and solid worth or happiness in them. They made 
all things to be good and evil, and flatly denied the 
idle stories of fortune and chance.^ 

1 Agel. lib. 9, c. 5. 

^ Laert. vir. mem. Laert. Plut. de rep. Stoi. Stob. Cic. dc Nat. Deo. 
lib. ii. Lect. de Ira Dei, cap. 10, 
i 3 Plut. PL Ph. 16. Cic. Tusc. Quest. 4. Diog. Laert. vit. Mem. Stob. 



320 

Certainly these were they, who having no external 
law, "became a law unto themselves;" and did not 
abuse the knowledge they had of the invisible God ; 
but to their capacities instructed men in the knowledge 
of that righteous, serious, solid, and heavenly Princi- 
ple, which leads to true and everlasting happiness all 
those that embrace it. 

Sect. 67. Xenocrates refused Alexander's present, 
yet treated his ambassadors after his temperate and 
spare manner; saying. You see I have no need of 
your master's bounty, that am so well pleased with 
this. He would say, That one ought not to carry 
one's eyes or one's hands into another man's house ; 
that is, be a busy-body. That one ought to be most 
circumspect of one's actions before children, lest by 
example, one's faults should out-live one's self. He 
said. Pride was the greatest obstruction to true know- 
ledge. His chastity and integrity were remarkable, 
and reverenced in Athens : Phryne, the famous Athe- 
nian courtezan, could not place a temptation upon him; 
nor Philip, king of Macedon, a bribe; though the 
rest sent in the embassy were corrupted. And being 
once brought for a witness, the judges rose up, and 
cried out. Tender no oath to Xenocrates, for he will 
speak the truth! A respect they did not allow to one 
another. Holding his peace at some detracting dis- 
course, they asked him, why he spoke not ? Because, 
saith he, I have sometimes repented of speaking, but 
never of holding my peace.* 

Sect. 68. Bion would say, That great men walk in 
slippery places. That it is a great mischief not to 
bear affliction. That ungodliness is an enemy to as- 

1 Laert. Val. Max. 4, 3, 2, 16. Cic. pro Fal. Val. Max. 7, 2. 



321 

surance. He said to a covetous man, That he did 
not possess his wealth, but his wealth possessed him; 
abstaining from using it, as if it were another man's. 
In fine, that men ought to pursue a course of virtue, 
without regard to the praise or reproach of men. 

Sect. 69. Demonax, seeing the great care that men 
had of their bodies, more than of their minds : They 
deck the house, saith he, but slight the master. He 
would say, That many are inquisitive after the make 
of the world, but are little concerned about their own, 
which were a science much more worthy of their pains. 
To a city that would establish the gladiators, or prize- 
fighters, he said, that they ought first to overthrow the 
Altar of Mercy: intimating the cruelty of such prac- 
tices. One asking him why he turned philosopher ? 
Because, saith he, I am Man. He would say of the 
priests of Greece, If they could better instruct the 
people, they could not give them too much ; but if 
not, the people could not give them too little. He 
lamented the unprofitableness of good laws, by being 
in bad men's hands. 

Sect. 70. Diogenes was angry with critics, that 
were nice of words, and not of their own actions; with 
musicians, that tune their instruments, but could not 
govern their passions ; with astrologers, that have 
their eyes in the sky, and look not to their own 
goings; with orators that study to speak well, but not 
to do well ; with covetous men, that take care to get, 
but never use their estates ; with those philosophers, 
that despise greatness, and yet court great men ; and 
with those that sacrifice for health, and yet surfeit 
themselves with eating their sacrifices. One time dis- 
coursing of the nature, pleasure and reward of virtue, 
21 



322 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

and the people not regarding what he said, he fell a 
singing ; at which every one pressed to hear : where- 
upon he cried out, in abhorrence of their stupidity ; 
" God, how much more is the world in love with 
folly, than with wisdom !" Seeing a man sprinkling 
himself with water, after having done some ill thing : 
Unhappy man ! saith he, dost thou not know that the 
errors of life are not to be washed away with water ? 
To one who said, Life is an ill thing ; he answered. 
Life is not an ill thing ; but an ill life is an ill thing. 
He was very temperate, for his bed and his table he 
found every ivhere. One seeing him wash herbs, said, 
If thou hadst followed Dionysius, king of Sicily, thou 
wouldest not have needed to have washed herbs : he 
answered. If thou hadst washed herbs, thou needest 
not to have followed Dionysius. He lighted a candle 
at noon, saying, I look for a Man ; implying that the 
world was darkened by vice, and men effeminated. 
To a luxurious person, that had wasted his means, 
supping upon olives : If, says he, thou hadst used to 
dine so, thou wouldst not have needed to sup so. To 
a young man dressing himself neatly : If this, saith 
he, be for the sake of men, thou art unhappy ; if for 
women, thou art unjust. Another time seeing an 
effeminate young man : Art thou not ashamed, saith 
he, to use thyself worse than nature hath made thee? 
she hath made thee a man, but thou wilt force thyself 
to be a woman. To one that courted a bad woman : 
wretch! said he, what meanest thou, to ask for that 
which is better lost than found ? To one that smelled 
of sweet unguents, Have a care, saith he, this perfume 
make not thy life stink. He compared covetous men 
to such as have the dropsy : Those are full of money, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 823 

yet desire more ; these of water, yet thirst for more. 
Being asked, What beasts were the worst ? In the 
field, saith he, bears and lions ; in the city usurers 
and flatterers. At a feast, one giving him a great 
cup of wine, he threw it away; for which being 
blamed. If I had drank it, saith he, not only the wine 
would have been lost, but I also. One asking him, 
how he might order himself best ? he said, by reprov- 
ing those things in thyself, which thou blamest in 
others. Another demanding, what was hardest ? he 
answered. To know ourselves, to whom we are 
partial. An astrologer discoursing to the people of 
the wandering stars : No, saith he, it is not the stars, 
but these, pointing to the people that heard him. 
Being asked, what men were most noble? They, saith 
he, who contemn wealth, honour, and pleasure, and 
endure the contraries, to wit, poverty, scorn, pain, and 
death. To a wicked man, reproaching him for his 
poverty ; I never knew, saith he, any man punished 
for his poverty, but many for their wickedness. To 
one bewailing himself that he should not die in his 
own country ; Be of comfort, saith he, for the way to 
heaven is alike in every place. One day he went 
backwards ; whereat the people laughing. Are you not 
ashamed, saith he, to do that all your life-time, which 
you deride in me ? 

Sect. 71. Crates, a Theban, famous for his self- 
denial and virtue ; descended from the house of Alex- 
ander, of great estate, at least two hundred talents ; 
which, having mostly distributed among the poor citi- 
zens, he became a constant professor of the Cynic 
philosophy. He exceedingly inveighed against com- 
mon v.-o'ri-n. Seeing at Delphos, a golden image. 



324 

that Phryne, the courtezan had set up, by the gains 
of her trade, cried out, This is a trophy of the Greeks' 
intemperance. Seeing a young man highly fed, and 
fat ; Unhappy youth, saith he, do not fortify thy 
prison. To another, followed by a great many para- 
sites ; Young man, saith he, I am sorry to see thee 
so much alone. Walking one day upon the exchange, 
where he beheld people mighty busy after their divers 
callings ; These people, saith he, think themselves 
happy ; but I am happy that have nothing to do with 
them : for I place my happiness in poverty, not in 
riches.^ Oh ! men do not know how much a wallet, 
a measure of lupins, with security is worth. Of his 
wife Hipparchia, a woman of wealth and extraction, 
but nobler for her love to true philosophy, and how 
they came together, there will be occasion to make 
mention in its place. 

Sect. 72. Aeistotle, a scholar to Plato, and the 
oracle of philosophy to these very times, though not 
so divinely contemplative as his master, nevertheless 
follows him in this : That luxury should by good dis- 
cipline be exiled human societies.^ Aristotle seeing 
a youth finely drest, said, Art thou not ashamed, 
when nature hath made thee a man, to make thyself 
a woman ? And to another, gazing on his fine cloak ; 
Why dost thou boast of a sheep's fleece ? He said. It 
was the duty of a good man to live so under laws, 
as he should do if there were none.^ 

Sect. 73. Mandanis, a great and famous philoso- 
pher of the Gymnosophists, whom Alexander the 
Great required to come to the feast of Jupiter's son, 
meaning himself, declaring. That if he came, he 

I Laort. 2 stob. Strom. 45. ^ Stub. 161; ibid. 46. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN, 325 

should be rewarded ; if not, he should be put to death. 
The philosopher contemned his message as vain and 
sordid : he first told them, That he denied him to be 
Jupiter's son, a mere fiction. Next, That as for his 
gifts, he esteemed them nothing worth ; his own 
country could furnish him with necessaries : beyond 
which he coveted nothing. And lastly. As for the 
death he threatened, he did not fear it : but of the 
two, he wished it rather ; in that saith he, it is a 
change to a more blessed and happy state.^ 

Sect. 74. Zeno, the great Stoic, and author of 
that philosophy, had many things admirable in him ; 
who not only said, but practised. He was a man of 
that integrity, and so reverenced for it by the Athe- 
nians, that they deposited the keys of the city in his 
hands, as the only person fit to be entrusted with 
their liberties ; yet by birth a stranger, being of 
Psittacon in Cyprus.^ Antigonus, king of Macedonia, 
had a great respect for him, and desired his company, 
as the following letter expresseth : 

"King Antigonus to Zeno the philosopher, health: 
I think that I exceed thee in fortune and glory ; but 
in learning and discipline, and that perfect felicity 
which thou hast attained, I am exceeded by thee ; 
wherefore I thought it expedient to write to thee, 
that thou wilt come to me, assuring myself thou wilt 
not deny it. Use all means therefore to come to us; 
and know thou art not to instruct me only, but all the 
Macedonians ; for he who teacheth the king of Mace- 
donia, and guideth him to virtue, it is evident, that 
he doth likewise instruct all his subjects in virtue: 
for such as is the prince, such for the most part are 
those who live under his government." 

1 Stob. 161: ibid. 46. « Stob. 161. Laert. 



326 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

Zeno answered thus: "To king Antigonus, Zeno 
-wisheth health: I much esteem thy earnest desire of 
learning, in that thou aimest at philosophy ; not popu- 
lar, which perverteth manners; but that true disci- 
pline which conferreth profit ; avoiding that generally 
commended pleasure, which effeminates the souls of 
men. It is manifest that thou art inclined to generous 
things, not only by nature, but by choice : with in- 
different exercise and assistance thou mayest easily 
attain to virtue. But I am very infirm of body, 
being fourscore years of age, and so not well able to 
come ; yet I will send thee some of my chief disciples, 
who, in those things concerning the soul, are nothing 
inferior to me; and whose instructions, if thou wilt 
follow them, will conduct thee to perfect blessedness." 

Thus Zeno refused Antigonus, but sent Persaus 

his countryman, and Philonides, a Theban. He would 
say. That nothing was more unseemly than pride, 
especially in youth, which was a time of learning. 
He therefore recommended to young men modesty in 
three things ; in their walking, in their behaviour, and 
in their apparel : often repeating those verses of 
Euripides, in honour of Capaneus : 

He was not puft up with his store : 
Nor thought himself above the poor. 

Seeing a man very finely dressed, stepping lightly 
over a kennel ; That man, saith he, doth not care for 
the dirt, because he could not see his face in it. He also 
taught. The people should not affect delicacy of diet, 
no not in their sickness. To one that smelt with un- 
guents; Who is it, saith he, that smells so effeminately? 
Seeing a friend of his taken too much up with busi- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 827 

ness of his land ; Unless thou lose thy land, saith he, 
thy land will lose thee. Being demanded, Whether a 
man that doeth wrong, may conceal it from God ? 
No, saith he, nor yet he who thinks it. Which testi- 
fies to the omnipresence of God. Being asked. Who 
was his best friend; he answered, My other-self; in- 
timating the Divine part that was in him. He would 
say. The end of man was not to live, eat, and drink; 
but to use this life so, as to obtain an happy life here- 
after. He was so humble, that he conversed with 
mean and ragged persons; whence Timon thus ; 

And for companions get of servants store, 
Of all men the most empty, and most poor. 

His was patient and frugal in his household expenses. 
Laertius saith, he had but one servant : Seneca avers, 
he had none. He was mean in his clothes : in his diet 
by Philemon thus described : 

He water drinks, then broth and herbs doth eat ; 
Teaching his scholars almost 'without meat. 

His chastity was so eminent, that it became a proverb; 
As chaste as Zeno. When the news of his death came 
to Antigonus, he broke forth into these words, What 
an object have I lost ? And being asked, Why he ad- 
mired him so much ? Because, saith he, though I be- 
stowed many great things upon him, he was never 
therewith exalted nor dejected. The Athenians, after 
his death, by a public decree, erected a statue to his 
memory; it runs thus: ''Whereas Zeno, the son of 
Manaseas, a Scythian, has professed philosophy about 
fifty-eight years in this city, and in all things perform- 
ed the office of a good man, encouraging those young 
men, who applied themselves to him, to the love of 



828 

virtue and temperance, leading himself a life suitable to 
the doctrine which he professed ; a pattern to the best 
to imitate ; the people have thought fit to do honour 
to Zeno, and to crown him with a crown of gold, ac- 
cording to law, in reward of his virtue and temper- 
ance, and to build a tomb for him, publicly in the 
Ceramick," &c. These two were his epitaphs, one by 
Antipater : 

Ilei-e Zeno lies, who tall Olympus scal'd ; 

Not heaping Pelion on Ossa's head : 
Nor by Herculean labours so prevail'd ; 

But found out virtue's paths, which thither led. 

The other by Xenodotus, the Stoic, thus : 

Zeno, thy years to hoary age were spent, 
Not with vain riches, but with self-content. 

Sect. 75. Seneca, a great and excellent philoso- 
pher who, with Epictetus, shall conclude the testimo- 
nies of the men of their character, hath so much to 
our purpose, that his works are but a kind of con- 
tinued evidence for us : he saith, Nature was not so 
much an enemy, as to give an easy passage of life to 
all other creatures, and that man alone should not live 
without so many arts : she hath commanded us none 
of these things. We have made all things difficult to 
us, by disdaining things that are easy: houses, clothes, 
meats, and nourishment of bodies, and those things 
which are now the care of life, were easy to come by, 
freely gotten, and prepared with a light labour : for 
the measure of these things was necessity, not volup- 
tuousness : but we have made them pernicious and 
admirable : they must be sought with art and skill. 
Nature sufficeth to that which she requireth. 

Appetite hath revolted from nature, which con- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 329 

tinually inciteth itself, and increases with the ages, 
helping vice by wit. First, it began to desire super- 
fluous, then contrary things : last of all, it sold the 
mind to the body, and commanded it to serve the lusts 
thereof. All these arts, wherewith the city is con- 
tinually set at work, and maketh such a stir, do centre 
in the affairs of the body, to which all things were 
once performed as to a Servant, but now are provided 
as for a Lord. Hence the shops of engravers, per- 
fumers, &c. hence of those that teach effeminate mo- 
tions of the body ; and vain and wanton songs : for 
natural behaviour is despised, which completed desires 
with necessary help : now it is clownishness and ill- 
breeding, to be contented with as much as is requisite. 
What shall I speak of rich marbles curiously wrought, 
wherewith temples and houses do shine ? what of 
stately galleries, and rich furniture ? These are but 
the devices of most vile slaves, the inventions of men, 
not of wise men : for wisdom sits deeper ; it is the 
mistress of the mind. Wilt thou know what things she 
hath found out, what she hath made ? Not unseemly 
motions of the body, nor variable singing by trumpet 
or flute ; nor yet weapons, wars, or fortifications : 
she endeavoureth profitable things ; she favours peace, 
and calls all mankind to an agreement : she leadeth 
to a blessed estate : she openeth the way to it, and 
shews what is evil from what is good, and chaseth 
vanity out of the mind : she giveth solid greatness, 
but debaseth that which is puffed up, and would be 
seen of men ; she bringeth forth the " Image of God 
to be seen in the souls of men:" and so from corpo- 
real, she translateth into incorporeal things. Thus 
in the 90th epistle to Lucilius. — To Gallio, he writeth 



330 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

thus : " All men, brother Gallio, are desirous to live 
happy ; yet blind to the means of that blessedness, 
as long as we wander hither and thither, and follow 
not our guide, but the dissonant clamour of those 
that call on us to undertake different ways. Our 
short life is wearied and worn a^yay amongst errors, 
although we labour to get us a good mind. There is 
nothing therefore to be more avoided than following 
the multitude without examination, and believing any 
thing without judging. Let us inquire what is best 
to be done, not what is most usually done ; and what 
planted us in the possession of eternal felicity ; not 
what is ordinarily allowed of by the multitude, which 
is the worst interpreter of truth. I call the Multi- 
tude as well those that are clothed in White, as those 
in other colours : for I examine not the colours of the 
garments, wherewith their bodies are clothed : I trust 
not mine eyes to inform me what a man is ; "I have 
a better and truer Light, whereby I can distinguish 
truth from falsehood." Let the soul find out the 
Grood of the soul. If once she may have leisure to 
withdraw into herself, oh ! how will she confess, I 
wish all I have done were undone ; and all I have 
said, when I recollect it, I am ashamed of it, when I 
now hear the like in others. These things below, 
whereat we gaze, and whereat we stay, and which one 
man with admiration shews unto another, do outwardly 
shine, but are inwardly empty. Let us seek out some- 
what that is good, not in appearance, but solid, united 
and best, in that which least appears : let us discover 
this. Neither is it far from us ; we shall find it, if 
we seek it. For it is wisdom, not to wander from 
that Immortal Nature, but to form ourselves according 



NO CROSS, XO CROWN. 331 

to his law and example. Blessed is the man who 
judgeth rightly : blessed is he who is contented with 
his present condition : and blessed is he who giveth 
ear to that immortal principle, in the government of 
his life." An whole volume of these excellent things 
hath he written. No wonder a man of his doctrine 
and life, escaped not the cruelty of brutish Nero, 
under whom he suffered death ; as also did the apostle 
Paul, with whom, it is said, Seneca had conversed. 
When Nero's messenger brought him the news that he 
was to die ; with a composed and undaunted counte- 
nance he received the errand, and presently called for 
pen, ink, and paper, to write his last will and testa- 
ment ; which the captain refusing, he turned towards 
his friends, and took his leave thus : " Since, my 
loving friends, I cannot bequeath you any other thing 
in acknowledgment of what I owe you, I leave you at 
least the richest and best portion I have, that is. The 
Image of my Manners and Life ; which doing, you 
will obtain true happiness." His friends shewing 
great trouble for the loss of him, Where, saith he, 
are those memorable precepts of philosophy ; and 
what is become of those provisions, which for so many 
years together vie have laid up against the brunts and 
afflictions of providence ? Was Nero's cruelty un- 
known to us ? What could we expect better at his 
hands, that killed his brother, and murdered his mo- 
ther, but that he would also put his tutor and go- 
vernor to death ? Then turning to his wife, Pompeja 
Paulina, a Roman lady, young and noble, beseeched 
her, for the love she bore him and his philosophy, to 
suffer patiently his affliction ; For, saith he, my hour 
is come, wherein I must shew, not only by discourse, 



332 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

but by death, the fruit I have reaped by my medita- 
tions. I embrace it "without grief; wherefore do not 
dishonour it with thy tears. Assuage thy sorrow, and 
comfort thyself in the knowledge thou hast had of 
me, and of my actions ; and lead the rest of thy life 
with that honest industry thou hast addicted thyself 
unto. And dedicating his life to God, he expired. 

Sect. 76. Epictetus, /contemporary with Seneca, 
and an excellent man, thought no man worthy of the 
profession of Philosophy, that was not purified from 
the errors of his nature. His morals were very ex- 
cellent, which he comprised under these two words, 
Sustaining and Abstaining ; or Bearing and Forbear- 
ing : To avoid evil, and patiently to suffer afflictions : 
which do certainly comprise the Christian doctrine 
and life, and are the perfection of the best philoso- 
phy that was at any time taught by Egyptians, 
Greeks, or Romans, when it signified virtue, self- 
denial, and a life of religious solitude and contempla- 
tion. 

How little the Christians of the times are true phi- 
losophers, and how much more these philosophers were 
Christians than they, let the Righteous Principle in 
every conscience judge. But is it not then intolerable 
that they should be esteemed Christians, who are yet 
to learn to be good Heathens, that prate of Grace 
and Nature, and know neither ; who will presume to 
determine what is become of Heathens, and know 
not where they are themselves, nor mind what may 
become of them ; that can run readily over a tedious 
list of famous personages, and calumniate such as will 
not, with them, celebrate their memories with extra- 
vagant and superfluous praises, whilst they make it 



833 

laudable to act the contrary ; and none so ready a 
way to become vile, as not to be vicious? A strange 
paradox, but too true : so blind, so stupified, so be- 
sotted arc the foolish sensualists of the world, under 
their great pretences to religion, faith and worship. 
Ah ! did they but know the peace, the joy, the un- 
speakable ravishments of soul, that inseparably attend 
the innocent, harmless, still and retired life of Jesus ; 
did they but weigh within themselves the authors of 
their vain delights and pastimes, the nature and dis- 
position they are so grateful to, the dangerous conse- 
quence of exercising the mind and its affections below, 
and arresting and taking them up from their due 
attendance and obedience to the most holy crying 
voice in their consciences, ^' Repent, Return : All is 
vanity and vexation of spirit. Were but these things 
reflected upon ; were the incessant wooings of Jesus, 
and his importunate knocks and intreaties, by his 
Light and Grace, at the door of their hearts, but 
kindly answered, and He admitted to take up his 
abode there ; and lastly, were such resolved to give 
up to the instructions and holy guidance of his Eter- 
nal Spirit, in all the humble, heavenly, and righteous 
conversation it requires, and of which he is become 
our captain and example ; then, oh ! then, both root 
and branch of vanity, the- nature that invented, and 
that which delights herself therein, with all the follies 
themselves, would be consumed and vanish. But they, 
alas ! cheat themselves by misconstrued scriptures, 
and daub with the untempered mortar of misapplied 
promises. They will be saints, whilst they are sin- 
ners ; and in Christ, whilst in the spirit of the world, 
walking after the flesh, and not after the Spirit, by 



334 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

which the true children of God are led. My friends, 
mind the Just Witness and Holy Principle in your- 
selves, that you may experimentally know more of 
the divine life ; in which, and not in a multitude of 
vain repetitions, true and solid felicity eternally con- 
sists. 

IV.- Nor is this reputation, wisdom and virtue, only 
to he attributed to Men : there were Women also, in 
the Greek and Roman ages, that honoured their sex 
by great examples of meekness, prudence, and chas- 
tity: and vfhich I do the rather mention, that the 
honour story yields to their virtuous conduct may 
raise an allowable emulation in those of their own 
sex, at least to equal the noble character given them 
by antiquity. I will begin with 

Sect. 77. Penelope, wife to Ulysses, a woman 
eminent for her beauty and quality, but more for her 
singular chastity. Her husband was absent from her 
twenty years ; partly in service of his country, and 
partly in exile ; and being believed to be dead, she 
was earnestly sought by divers lovers, and pressed by 
her parents to change her condition ; but all the im- 
portunities of the one, or persuasions of the other, not 
prevailing, her lovers seemed to use a kind of violence, 
that where they could not entice, they would compel ; 
to which she yielded, upon this condition ; That they 
would not press her to marry, till she had ended the 
work she had in hand : which they granting, she un- 
did by night what she wrought by day ; and with that 
honest device she delayed their desire, till her worthy 
husband returned, whom she received, though in beg- 
gar's clothes, with an heart full of love and truth. A 
constancy that reproaches too many of the women of 



335 

the times, who, without the excuse of such an absence, 
can violate their husbands' beds. Her work shews the 
industry and employment, even of the women of 
great quality in those times ; whilst those of the pre- 
sent age despise such honest labour, as mean and me- 
chanical. 

Sect. 78. Theoxena, a woman of great virtue, 
being in a place encompassed by the armies of the 
king of Macedonia, finding she could not escape their 
hands, rather than fall under the power of his soldiers 
to be defiled, chose to die : and therefore flying into 
the sea, delivered her life up in the waters ; thereby 
choosing death, rather than save her life with the 
hazard of her virtue. 

Sect. 79. Pandora and Protogenia, two virtuous 
daughters of an Athenian king, seeing their country 
like to be over-run by its enemies, freely ofiered their 
lives in sacrifice, to appease the fury of their enemies, 
for the preservation of their country. 

Sect. 80. Hipparchia, a fair Macedonian virgin, 
noble of blood, as they term it, but more truly noble 
of mind, I cannot omit to mention ; who entertained 
so earnest an affection for Crates, the Cynical philoso- 
pher, as well for his severe life as excellent dis- 
course, that by no means could her relations nor 
suitors, by all their wealth, nobility and beauty dis- 
suade her from being his companion : upon which 
strange resolution, they all betook themselves to 
Crates, beseeching him to shew himself a true philo- 
sopher, in persuading her to desist : which he strongly 
endeavoured by many arguments : but not prevailing 
went his way, and brought all the little furniture of 
his house, and shewed her : This, saith he, is thy hus- 



336 

band ; that the furniture of thy house : consider on 
it, for thou canst not be mine, unless thou followest 
the same course of life : for, being rich above twenty 
talents, which is more than fifty thousand pounds, he 
neglected all, to follow a retired life : all which had 
so contrary an effect, that she immediately went to 
him, before them all, and said, I seek not the pomp 
and effeminacy of this world, but knowledge and 
virtue. Orates; and choose a life of temperance, before 
a life of delicacies : for true satisfaction, thou know- 
est, is in the mind ; and that pleasure is only worth 
seeking that lasts for ever. Thus was it, she became 
the constant companion both of his love and life, his 
friendship and his virtues ; travelling with him from 
place to place, and performing the public exercises of 
instruction with Crates, wherever they came. She 
was a most violent enemy to all impiety, but especially 
to wanton men and women, and those whose garb and 
conversation shewed them devoted to vain pleasures 
and pastimes : effeminacy rendering the like persons 
not only unprofitable, but pernicious to the whole 
world. Which she as well made good by the example 
of her exceeding industry, temperance, and severity, 
as those are wont to do by their intemperance and 
folly : for ruin of health, estates, virtue, and loss of 
eternal happiness, have ever attended, and ever will 
attend, such earthly minds. 

^ECT. 81. LucRETiA, a most chaste Roman dame, 
whose name and virtue is known by that tragedy that 
follows them. For Sextus, the son of Tarquin the 
Proud king of Rome, hearing it was her custom to 
work late in her chamber, did there attempt her, with 
his sword in his hand, vowing he would run her 



i 



337 

through : and put one of his servants in the posture 
of lying with her, on purpose to defame her, if she 
would not yield to his lusts. Having forced his 
wicked end, she sends for her father, then governor 
of Rome, her husband and her friends, to whom hav- 
ing revealed the matter, and with tears lamented her 
irreparable calamity, she slew herself in their pre- 
sence; that it might not be said Lucretia out-lived her 
chastity, even when she could not defend it. I 
praise the virtue, not the act. But God soon avenged 
this, with other impieties upon that wicked family ; 
for the people hearing what Sextus had done, whose 
flagitious life they equally hated with his father's 
tyranny, and their sense of both, aggravated by the 
reverence they conceived for the chaste and exemplary 
life of Lucretia, betook themselves to their arms ; and 
headed by her father, her husband, Brutus and Vale- 
rius, they drove out that Tarquin family: in which 
action the hand of Brutus avenged the blood of 
Lucretia upon infamous Sextus, whom he slew in the 
battle. 

Sect. 82. Cornelia, also a noble Roman matron, 
and sister to Scipio, was esteemed the most famous 
and honourable personage of her time, not more for 
the greatness of her birth, than her exceeding tem- 
perance. And history particularly mentions this, as 
one great instance of her virtue, for which she was so 
much admired, to wit. That she never was accustomed 
to wear rich apparel, but such apparel as was very 
plain and grave; rather making her children, whom 
her instructions and example had made virtuous, her 
greatest ornaments: a good pattern for the vain and 
wanton dames of the age. 

99. 



838 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

Sect. 83. Pontia was another Homan dame, re- 
nowned for her singular modesty : for though Octavius 
attempted her with all imaginable allurements and 
persuasions, she chose rather to die by his cruelty 
than be polluted by his lust. So he took her life, 
that could not violate her chastity. 

Sect. 84. Arria, wife to Cecinna Paetus, is not less 
famous in story for the magnanimity she shewed, in 
being the companion of her husband's disgraces, who 
thrust herself into prison with him, that she might be 
his servant; and shewed him first by death to be 
revenged of the tyrant. 

Sect. 85. Pompeia Plautina, wife to Julianus the 
emperor, commended for her compassion of the poor, 
used the power her virtue had given her with her 
husband, to .put him upon all the just and tender 
things that became his charge, and to dissuade him from 
whatsoever seemed harsh to the people: particularly, 
she diverted him from a great tax his flatterers ad- 
vised him to lay upon the people. 

Sect. 86. Plotina, the wife of Trajan, a woman, 
saith a certain author, adorned with piety, chastity, 
and all the virtues that a woman is capable of. There 
are two instances ; one of her piety, the other of her 
chastity. The first is this : When her husband was 
proclaimed emperor, she mounted the Capitol after 
the choice ; where, in a religious manner, she said, 
" Oh, that I may live under all this honour, with the 
same virtue and content that I enjoyed before I had 
it !" The second is this : Her husband being once 
exiled, she caused her hair to be cut short, as the men 
wore it, that with less notice and danger she might be 
the companion of his banishment. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 339 

Sect. 87. Pompeia Paulina, a Roman lady of 
youth and beauty, descended of the most noble fami- 
lies of Rome, fell in love with Seneca, for the excel- 
lency of his doctrine, and the gravity and purity of 
his manners. They married, and lived great exam- 
ples together to both their sexes. So great was her 
value for her husband, and so little did she care to 
live when he was to die, that she chose to be the com- 
panion of his death as she had been of his life : and 
her veins were cut as well as his, whilst she was the 
auditor of his excellent discourses ; but Nero hearing 
of it, and fearing lest Paulina's death might bring 
him great reproach, because of her noble alliance in 
Rome, sent with all haste to have her wounds closed, 
and if it were possible to save her life: which, though 
as one half dead, was done, and she against her will 
lived ; but always with a pale hue, and wan complex- 
ion of face, to tell how much of her life was gone with 
Seneca, her dearest friend, philosopher, and husband. 

Sect. 88. Thus may the voluptuous women of the 
times read their reproof in the character of a brave 
Heathen ; and learn, that solid happiness consists in 
a neglect of wealth and greatness, and a contempt of 
all corporeal pleasures, as more befitting beasts than 
immortal spirits : and which are loved by none but 
such, as not knowing the excellency of heavenly 
things, are both inventing and delighting, like brutes, 
in that which perisheth : giving the preference to 
poor mortality, and spending their lives to gratify 
the lusts of a little dirty flesh and blood, " that shall 
never enter into the kingdom of heaven :" by all 
which their minds become darkened, and so insensible 
of more celestial glories, that they do not only refuse 



340 

to inquire after them, but infamously scoff and despise 
those that do, as a foolish and mad people : to that 
strange degree of darkness and impudence this age 
has got. But if the exceeding temperance, chastity, 
virtue, industry, and contentedness of very Heathens, 
with the plain and necessary enjoyments God has 
been pleased to vouchsafe the sons and daughters of 
men, as sufficient to their wants and conveniency, that 
they may be the more at leisure, to answer the great 
end of their being born, will not suffice, but that they 
will exceed the bounds, precepts, and examples, both 
of Heathens and of Christians, anguish and tribula- 
tion will overtake them when they shall have an eter- 
nity to think upon, with gnashing teeth, what to all 
eternity they can never remedy : these dismal wages 
are decreed for them who so far affront God, heaven 
and eternal felicity, as to neglect their salvation from 
sin here, and wrath to come, for the enjoyment of a 
few fading pleasures. For such to think, notwithstand- 
ing their lives of sense and pleasure, wherein their 
minds become slaves to their bodies, that they shall 
be everlastingly happy, is an addition to their evils ; 
since it is a great abuse to the holy God, that men 
and women should believe him an eternal companion 
of their carnal and sensual minds : for, "as the tree 
falls, so it lies ;" and as death leaves men, judgment 
finds them : and there is no repentance in the grave. 
Therefore I beseech you, to whom this comes, to re- 
tire: withdraw a while; let not the body see all, taste 
all, enjoy all; but let the soul see too, taste and enjoy 
those heavenly comforts and refreshments, proper to 
that eternal world of which she is an inhabitant, and 
where she must ever abide in a state of peace or 
plagues, when this visible one shall be dissolved. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 341 



CHAPTER XX. 

Sect. 1. The doctrine of Christ from Matt. v. about denial of self. 2. 
John Baptist's example. 3. The testimonies of the apostle Peter, &c. 

4. Paul's godly exhortation against pride, covetousn ess, and luxury. 

5. The pi'imitive Christians' non-conformity to the world. 6. Clemens 
Romanus against the vanity of the Gentiles. 7. Machiavel of the zeal 
of the primitive Christians. 8. Tertullian, Chrysostom, &c. on Matt, 
xii. 36. 9. Gregory Nazianzene. 10. Jerom. 11. Hilary. 12. Ambrose. 
13. Augustine. 14. Council of Carthage. 15. Cardan. 16. Gratian. 
17. Petrus Bellonius. 18. Waldenses. 19. What they understood by 
Daily Bread in the Lord's Prayer. 20. Their judgment concerning 
Taverns. 21. Dancing, Music, &c. 22. An epistle of Bartholomew 
Tertian to the Waldensian churches, &c. 23. Their extreme suffering 
and faithfulness. Their degeneracy reproved that call them their an- 
cestors. 24. Paulinus, bishop of Nola, relieving slaves and prisoners. 
25. Acacius, bishop of Amida, his charity to enemies. 

Having abundantly shewn, how much the doctrine 
and conversation of the virtuous Gentiles condemn 
the pride, avarice and luxury of the professed Chris- 
tians of the times ; I shall, in the next place, to dis- 
charge my engagement, and farther fortify this dis- 
course, present my reader with the judgment and 
practice of the most Christian times ; as also of emi- 
nent writers both ancient and modern. I shall begin 
with the blessed author of that religion.^ 

Sect. 1. Jesus Christ, in whose mouth there was 
found no guile, sent from God with a testimony of 
love to mankind, and who laid dov/n his life for their 
salvation ; whom God hath raised by his mighty power 
to be Lord of all, is of right to be first heard in this 
matter ; "for never man spake like him," to our 
point ; short, clear and close ; and all opposite to the 
way of this wicked world. Blessed, says he, are the 

1 The doctrine and practice of the blessed Lord Jesus and his apostles, 
the primitive Christians, and those of more modern times in favour of 
this discourse. 



342 

poor in " spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God :" 
he doth not say, Blessed are the proud, the rich, the 
high-minded : here is humility and the fear of the 
Lord blest. ^' Blessed are they that mourn, for they 
shall be comforted:" he doth not say. Blessed are the 
feasters, dancers, and revellers of the world, whose 
life is swallowed up of pleasure and jollity : no, as he 
was a man of sorrows, so he blessed the godly-sorrow- 
ful. " Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit 
the earth:" he doth not say. Blessed are the ambi- 
tious, the angry, and those that are puffed up : he 
makes not the earth a blessing to them : and though 
they get it by conquest and rapine, it will at last fall 
into the hands of the meek to inherit. Again, " Bles- 
sed are they which do hunger and thirst after righte- 
ousness:" but no blessing to the hunger and thirst of 
the luxurious man. " Blessed are the merciful, for 
they shall obtain mercy:" he draws men to tenderness 
and forgiveness by reward. Hast thou one in thy 
power that hath wronged thee ? be not rigorous, exact 
not the utmost farthing ; be merciful, and pity the 
afflicted, for such are blessed. Yet farther, " Blessed 
are the pure in heart, for they shall see God:" he 
doth not say. Blessed are the proud, the covetous, the 
unclean, the voluptuous, the malicious : no, such shall 
never see God. Again, "Blessed are the peace- 
makers, for they shall be called the children of God:" 
he doth not say. Blessed are the contentious, back- 
biters, tale-bearers, brawlers, fighters, makers of war ; 
neither shall they be called the children of God, what- 
ever they may call themselves. Lastly, " Blessed are 
you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, 
and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my 



343 

sake ; rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your 
reward in heaven:"^ he blesseth the troubles of his 
people, and translates earthly sufferings into heavenly 
rewards. He doth not say, Blessed are you when the 
world speaks well of you, and fawns upon you : so 
that his blessings cross the world's ; for the world 
blesseth those as happy, that have the world's favour: 
He blesseth those as happy that have the world's 
frowns. This solveth the great objection, " Why are 
you so foolish to expose yourselves to the law, to 
incur the displeasure of magistrates, and suffer the 
loss of your estates and liberties ? Cannot a man 
serve God in his heart, and do as others do ? Are 
you wiser than your forefathers ? call to mind your 
ancestors. "VYill you question their salvation by your 
novelties, and forget the future good of your wife and 
children, as well as sacrifice the present comforts of 
your life, to hold up the credit of a party ?" a lan- 
guage I have more than once heard : I say, this doc- 
trine of Christ is an answer and antidote against the 
power of this objection. He teaches us to embrace 
truth under all those scandals. The Jews had more 
to say of this kind than any, whose way had a more 
extraordinary institution ; but Christ minds not either 
institution or succession. He was a New Man, and 
came to consecrate a New "Way, and that in the will 
of God; and the power that accompanied his ministry, 
and that of his followers, abundantly proved the 
divine authority of his mission, who thereby warns his 
followers to expect and to bear contradiction, reviling, 
and persecution ; for if they did it to the Green tree, 
much more were they to expect that they would do it 
to the Dry: if to the Lord, then to the servant. 

^ Matt. T. 



344 

Why then should Christians fear that reproach and 
tribulation, that are the companions of his religion, 
since they work to his sincere followers a far more 
exceeding and eternal weight of glory ? But indeed 
they have great cause to fear and he ashamed, who 
are the authors of such reproach and suffering, so 
contrary to the meek and merciful spirit of Christ : 
for if they are blessed who are reviled and persecuted 
for his sake ; the revilers and persecutors must be 
cursed. But this is not all : he bade his disciples 
"follow him, learn of him, for he was meek and lowly:" 
he taught them to bear injuries, and not smite again ; 
to exceed in kindness ; to go two miles, when asked to 
go one ; to part with cloak and coat too ; to give to 
them that ask, and to lend to them that borrow ; to 
forgive, aye, and love enemies too; commanding them, 
saying, "Bless them that curse you; do good to them 
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully 
use you, and persecute you :"^ urging them with a 
most sensible demonstration, "That," saith he, "you 
may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; 
for he maketh the sun to rise upon the good and the 
evil, and his rain to descend upon the just and the 
unjust." He also taught his disciples to believe and 
rely upon God's Providence, from the care that he 
had over the least of his creatures : " Therefore," 
saith he, I say unto you, take no thought for your 
life, what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, nor 
yet for your body, v/hat you shall put on : is not the 
life more than meat, and the body, than raiment ? 
Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither 
do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly 

1 Matt. V. 



345 

Pather feedeth them ; are you not much better than 
they ? Which of you by taking thought can add one 
cubit unto his stature ? And why take you thought 
for raiment ? Consider the lilies of the field, how 
they grow ; they toil not, neither do they spin : and 
yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory 
was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if 
God so clotheth the grass of the field, which to-day is, 
and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much 
more clothe you ? ye of little faith ! Therefore 
take no thought, saying. What shall we eat, or what 
shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed ? 
for after all those things do the Gentiles seek, for 
your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of 
all these things. But seek you first the kingdom of 
God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall 
be added unto you. Take, therefore, no thought for 
to-morrow, for to-morrow shall take thought for the 
things of itself; sufficient is the day for the evil 
thereof."^ Oh ! how plain, how sweet, how full, yet 
how brief, are his blessed sentences ! they thereby 
shew from whence they came, and that Divinity itself 
spoke them. What are laboured, what are forced and 
scattered in the best of other writers, and not all 
neither, are here comprized after a natural, easy, and 
conspicuous manner. He sets nature above art, and 
trust above care. This is he that himself came poor 
into the world, and so lived in it: he lay in a manger, 
conversed with mechanics; fasted much, retired often: 
and when he feasted, it was with barley loaves and 
fish, dressed doubtless in an easy and homely manner. 
He was solitary in his life, in his death ignominious : 

1 Matt. yi. 



346 

" The foxes had holes, the birds of the air had nests, 
but the Son of Man had not a place whereon to lay 
his head." He that made all things as God, had 
nothing as Man. Which hath this blessed instruction 
in it, that the meanest and poorest should not be de- 
jected, nor yet the richest and highest be exalted. In 
fine, having taught this doctrine, and lived as he spoke, 
he died to confirm it ; and oiFered up himself a pro- 
pitiation for the " sins of the whole world," when no 
other sacrifice could be found that could atone for man 
with God : who, rising above the power of death and 
the grave, hath led captivity captive, and is become 
the First-born from the dead, and Lord of the living; 
and his living people praise him, who is worthy for 
ever. 

Sect. 2. John the Baptist, who was the fore-run- 
ner of Christ's appearance in the flesh, did by his 
own abstinence sufficiently declare what sort of per- 
son it was he came to prepare and bespeak people to 
receive. For, though sanctified in his mother's womb, 
and declared by Christ to be the greatest of all pro- 
phets, yet his clothing was but a coarse garment of 
camel's hair, and a leathern girdle, and his food only 
locusts and wild honey : a life very natural, and of 
great simplicity. This was all the pomp and retinue 
which the greatest ambassador that ever came to the 
world was attended with, about the best of messages, 
to wit, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand." 
And " There is One coming after me, whose shoes- 
latchet I am not worthy to unloose, who shall baptize 
you with fire, and with the Holy Ghost ; and is the 
Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. "^ 

1 Mark i. 7, 8. 



347 

Did the fore-runner of the coming of God, for Em- 
manuel is God with men, appear without the state, 
grandeur, and luxury of the world ? and shall those 
who pretend to receive the message, and that for glad 
tidings too, and confess the Emmanuel, Christ Jesus, 
to be the Lord, live in the vanity and excess of the 
world, and care more for their fine clothes, delicate 
dishes, rich furniture, stately attendance, and pleasant 
diversion, than for the holy cross of Christ, and the 
blessed narrow way that leadeth to salvation ? Be 
ashamed and repent ! 

Sect. 3. Peter, Andrew, Philip, and the rest of 
the holy apostles, were by calling, as well as doctrine, 
not a luxurious people ; for they were made up of 
poor fishermen and mechanics : for Christ called not 
his disciples out of higher ranks of men ; nor had 
they ability, any more than will, to use the excesses 
herein reproved. You may conceive what their lives 
were, by what their Master's doctrine was; for they 
"were the true scholars of his heavenly discipline. 
Peter thus speaks, and exhorteth the Christians of his 
time, " X^et not your adorning be that outward adorn- 
ing of plaiting the hair, and the wearing of gold, and 
of putting on of apparel ; but let it be the hidden 
man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, 
even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which 
is in the sight of God of great price ; for after this 
manner in the old time, the holy women, who also 
trusted in God, adorned themselves. Vr^herefore gird 
up the loins of your minds, be sober, and hope to the 
end, as obedient children ; not fashioning yourselves 
according to your former lusts, in your ignorance, but 
as he which hath called you is holy, so be you holy in 



348 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

all manner of conversation ; and giving all diligence, 
add to your faith, virtue ; to virtue, knowledge ; and 
to knowledge, temperance ; and to temperance, pa- 
tience ; and to patience, godliness ; and to godliness, 
brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity: 
for if these things be in you, and abound, they make 
you that you shall be neither barren nor unfruitful : 
for so an entrance shall be administered unto you 
abundantly, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ: not rendering evil for evil, 
or railing for railing ; but contrary-wise, blessing : 
knowing that you are thereunto called, that ye should 
inherit a blessing : for even hereunto were ye called, 
before Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an exam- 
ple, that we should follow his steps, who did no sin, 
neither was guile found in his mouth ; who, when he 
was reviled, he reviled not again ; when he suffered, 
he threatened not, but committed himself to him that 
judgeth righteously."^ 

Sect. 4. Paul, who was also an apostle, though, as 
he saith, " born out of due time ;" a man of great 
knowledge and learning, but " I count it," saith he, 
"all loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ 
Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of 
all things, and do count them but dung that I may 
win Christ. Brethren, be followers of me, and mark 
them which walk so, as ye have us for an example : 
for many walk, of whom I have told you often, and 
now tell you, even weeping, that they are the enemies 
of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction ; for 
their god is their belly, they glory in their shame, 

1 1 Pet. iii. 3, 4. 1 Pet. i. 13, U, 15. 2 Pet. i. 5, 12. 1 Pet. iii. 9. 

ch. ii. 21, 22, 23. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 349 

and they mind earthly things. For our conversation 
is in heaven; from whence we look also for our Saviour, 
the Lord Jesus Christ.^ In like manner also, I will 
that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, Avith 
shamefacedness and sobriety ; not with broidered hair, 
or gold, or pearls, or costly array ; but with good 
works, as becometh women professing godliness.^ Be 
followers of God, as dear children ; and walk in love, 
as Christ also hath loved us : but fornication and all 
uncleanness, and covetousness, let it not be once 
named amongst you, as becometh saints ; neither 
filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are 
not convenient ; but rather giving of thanks: for this 
ye know, that no whoremonger, unclean person, nor 
covetous man, who is an idolater, hath an inheritance 
in the kingdom of Christ and of God. See then that 
you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, re- 
deeming the time, because the days are evil. Where- 
fore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the 
will of the Lord is; and be not drunk with wine, 
wherein is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, speak- 
" ing to yourselves in hymns and spiritual songs, sing- 
ing, and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. 
Rejoice in the Lord always; and I say again, Rejoice. 
Let your moderation be known to all men, for the 
Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing ; for we brought 
nothing into this world, and it is certain we can 
carry nothing out: and having food and raiment, let us 
be therewith content; for godliness with contentment 
is great gain : but they that will be rich, fall into 
temptation, and a snare, and into many foolish and 
nurtful lusts, which drown men in perdition and de- 

1 Phil. iii. 8. a 1 Tim. ii. 9, 10. 



350 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

struction : for the love of money is the root of all 
evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred 
from the faith, and pierced themselves through with 
many sorrows. But thou, man of God, flee these 
things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, 
love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of 
faith, and lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art 
also called, and hast professed a good profession be- 
fore many witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight 
of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ 
Jesus who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good con- 
fession, that thou keep this commandment without 
spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. Charge them that are rich in this 
world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in un- 
certain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us 
richly all things to enjoy ; that they do good, that 
they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, will- 
ing to communicate, laying up in store for themselves 
a good foundation against the time to come, that they 
may lay hold on eternal life. Timothy, keep that 
which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and 
vain babblings, and oppositions of science, falsely so 
called, which some professing, have erred concerning 
the faith. Grace be with thee, Amen."^ This was 
the blessed doctrine these messengers of eternal life 
declared ; and, which is more, they lived as they 
spoke. You find an account of their reception in the 
world, and the way of their living in his first epistle 
to the Corinthians ; *' For I think," saith he, " that 
God hath set forth us (the apostles) last, as it were men 
appointed to death ; for we are made a spectacle to 

- * Ephes. V. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 351 

the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for 
Christ's sake ; we are weak, we are despised ; even 
unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst, and 
have no certain dwelling-place ; and labour, working 
with our hands : being reviled, we bless ; being per- 
secuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat. We 
are made as the filth of the world, and are as the off- 
scouring of all things unto this day."^ This was the 
entertainment those faithful followers of Jesus re- 
ceived at the hands of an ungrateful world : but he 
who tells us of this, also tells us it is no .unusual 
thing; "For," saith he, "such as will live godly in 
Christ Jesus, must suffer persecution." Besides, he 
knew it had been the portion of the righteous in pre- 
ceding ages, as in his excellent account of the faith, 
trials, and victory of the holy ancients, in his epistle 
to the Hebrews, he does largely express, where he 
tells us, how great a sojourner Abraham was, even in 
the land of promise, a stranger in his own country, 
for God had given it unto him and his posterity, 
"Dwelling," saith he, "in tents with Isaac and 
Jacob. "^ And why not better settled ? Was it for 
want of understanding or ability, or materials ? No, 
he gives a better reason; "For," saith he, "Abra- 
ham looked for a city which had foundations, whose 
builder and maker is God." And speaking of Moses, 
he tells us, " That by faith, when he was come to 
years of discretion, he refused to be called the son of 
Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction 
with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures 
of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ 
'greater riches than the treasures of Egypt ; for he 

' 1 Cor. iv. » 1 Cor. xi. 



352 

had respect unto the recompense of reward, nor 
feared he the wrath of the king, for he endured, see- 
ing him who is invisible." He adds, "And others 
had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings; yea, 
moreover, of bonds and imprisonments : they were 
stoned, they were sawed asunder, were tempted, were 
slain with a sword ; they wandered about in sheep- 
skins and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tor- 
mented, of whom the world was not worthy. They 
wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens, 
and caves of the earth ; and these all have obtained 
a good report." Methinks this should a little abate 
the intemperance of professed Christians, I do not bid 
them be thus miserable, but I would not have them 
make themselves so hereafter; for this afflicted life 
hath joys transcending the utmost pleasure that sin 
can give, and in the end it will be found that it were 
better to be a poor pilgrim, than a citizen of the world. 
Nor was this only the life and instruction of apostoli- 
cal teachers; the same plainness and simplicity of life 
was also followed by the first Christians. 

Sect. 5. The primitive Christians, OuzELius, in 
his Animadversions on Minutius Felix, saith, were re- 
proached by the Gentiles, for their ill-breeding, rude 
and unpolished language, unfashionable behaviour, as 
a people that knew not how to carry themselves in 
their addresses and salutations, calling them rustics 
and clowns, which the Christians easily bore, valuing 
their profession the more for its non-conformity to 
the world ; wherefore it was usual with them, by way 
of irony and contempt, to call the Gentiles, the well- 
bred, the eloquent, and the learned. This he proves 
by ample testimonies out of Arnobius, Lactantius, 



I 



NO CROSS, NO CKOWX. 353 

Isiodorus, Pelusiota, Theodoret, and others. Which 
may instruct us, that the Christians' behaviour was not 
regulated by the customs of the country they lived in, 
as is usually objected against our singularity: no, they 
refused the embellishment of art, and would not wear 
the furniture of her invention; but as they were 
singular in their religion, so in the way of their con- 
versation among men.^ 

Sect. 6. Clemens Romanus (if author of the Con- 
stitutions that go under his name) hath this among 
the rest : " Abstain from the vain books of the Gen- 
tiles. What have you to do with vain and unpro- 
fitable discourses, which only serve to seduce weak 
persons?"^ This Clement is remembered by Paul in 
one of his epistles ; who in this exactly follows his 
advice to Timothy, about vain questions, doubtful dis- 
putes, and opposition of science.^ Let us see how 
this moderation and purity of manners continued. 

Sect. 7. Machiavel, no mean author, in his Dis- 
putations assures us. That the first promoters of Chris- 
tianity were so diligent in rooting out the vanities and 
superstitions of the Gentiles, that they commanded all 
such poets and historians, which commended any thing 
of the Gentile conversation, or worship, to be burned.'* 
But that zeal is evidently extinguished, and those fol- 
lies revived among the professors of the religion of 
Jesus. 

Sect. 8. Tertullian, Chrtsostom, Theophylact, 
Gregory Nazianzene,^ upon these words of Christ, 
" But I say unto you, that every idle word that men 

a Animad. in Min. Fel. p. 25. - Constit. Clem. Rom. 1. 1, c. 2. 

Phil. iv. 3. * Mach. Dis. 1. 2, c. 5. 

» Tert. lib. de Patien. Cbrysost. 

23 



354 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

shall speakj they shall give an account thereof in the 
day of judgment,"^ thus reflect upon vain discourse ; 
" The words mean (saith Tertullian) of all vain and 
superfluous speech, more talk than is necessary :" 
Says Chrysostom, *' Of such words as are not conve- 
nient nor profitahle, but move immodesty." Says 
Theophylact, " Of all lies, calumnies, all inordinate 
and ridiculous speeches." Says Gregory, " Such 
words men shall account for, which want that profit 
ever redounding from modest discourses, and that are 
seldom uttered from any preceding necessity or cause; 
things frivolous, fables, old wives' tales." All which 
sufiiciently reprehend the plays, poetry, and romances 
of the times, of great folly, vanity and sin. 

Sect. 9. Gregory, and this a father of the church, 
a very extraordinary man, was so zealous for the sim- 
plicity and purity of the mind, language, and lives of 
the Christians of his time, that he suppressed several 
Greek authors, as Menander, Diphilus, Apollodorus, 
Philemon, Alexis, Sappho, and others, which were the 
recreations of the vain Gentiles : Thus Cardan. Hear 
his judgment of fine clothes, none of the least part of 
the luxury and vanity of the age, " There be some," 
saith he, "of opinion that the wearing of precious and 
sumptuous apparel is no sin ; which, if it were no 
fault, the Divine Word would never have so punctu- 
ally expressed, nor historically related, how the rich 
man, that was tormented in hell, was clothed in purple 
and silk : whence we may note, that touching the 
matter or subject of attire, human curiosity availeth 
highly. The first substance of our garments was very 
mean, to wit, skins with wool ; whence it is we read, 

1 Matt. xii. 36. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 355 

God made Adam and his wife coats of skins ; that is, 
skins of dead beasts. Afterwards, to see the growing 
pride and vanity of men and women, they come to 
pure wool, because lighter ; after that to flax ; then 
to dung and ordure of worms, to wit, silk ; lastly, to 
gold and silver, and precious stones ; which excess of 
apparel highly displeased God : for instance whereof, 
which the very Pagans themselves observed, we read, 
that the very first among the Romans that ever wore 
purple was struck with a thunder-bolt, and so died 
suddenly for a terror to all succeeding times, that 
none should attempt to live proudly, in precious 
attire." This was the sense of Gregory Nazianzene, 
that ancient Christian writer, who wore commonly a 
poor coat, like to a frock ; so did Justin Martyr, 
Jerom, and Austin, as their best robe. 

Sect. 10. Jerom, a famous man, also styled a father 
of the church, above all others seems positive in this 
matter, in an epistle he wrote to a noble virgin, called 
Demetias, in which he exhorted her, That after she 
had ended her devotion, she should take in hand wool 
and weaving, after the commendable example of Dor- 
cas ; that by such changing and variety of works, the 
day might seem less tedious, and the attempts of Sa- 
tan less grievous ; concluding his religious exhortation 
with this positive sentence : saith he, "I speak gene- 
rally; No raiment or habit whatsoever shall seem pre- 
cious in Christ's sight, but tiiat which thou makest thy- 
self : either for thy own particular use or example of 
other virgins, or to give unto thy grandmother or mo- 
ther : no, though otherwise thou didst distribute thy 
goods to the poor."^ Let but this strictness be con- 

1 Acts is. 36, 39. 



356 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

sidered, and compared with the apparel and conversa 
tion of the age ; for, however Pharisee-like they 
otherwise saint him, and call him an Holy Father, 
sure it is, they reject his counsel. 

Sect. 11. Hilary, bishop of Poictiers, a father of 
the church, and famous for his WTitings against the 
Arians, having travelled into Syria, was informed, that 
Abra, his only daughter, whom he left with her mother, 
was by the greatest lords of the country solicited in mar- 
riage; being a young woman well-bred, fair, and rich, 
and in the prime of her age. He wrote to her, earnestly 
pressing her. By no means to fix her aifections upon 
the pleasure, greatness, or advantage that might be 
presented to her; for in his voyage he had found a 
greater and worthier match, an husband of far more 
power and magnificence, who would endow her with 
robes and jewels of an inestimable value. This he did 
to take ofi" her desires from the world, that he might 
wed her unto God: and it was his fervent and frequent 
prayer, which in some sense was answered ; for she 
lived religiously, and died a virgin : Which shewed 
great nobility of mind, that taught his daughter to 
tread upon the mountains of worldly glory ; and it vras 
not less honourable in her that so readily yielded to 
the excellent counsel of her pious father. 

Sect. 12. Ambrose, another father, who was lieute- 
nant of the province and city of Milan, and upon his 
discreet appeasing, of the multitude, disordered upon 
some difference amongst them about electing a bishop, 
was by their uniform consent chosen himself: although 
this person of all others, might have been thought to 
plead for the accustomed recreations, especially not 
having been long a Christian, for he was a Catechu 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 357 

menist, or one but lately instructed, at the time of his 
being elected; yet doth he in so many words determine 
the matter thus: "Plays ought not to be known by 
Christians :" then not made, heard, and defended by 
Christians ; or they must be none that do so. 

Sect. 13. Augustine, more famous for his many 
books, and knowledge in church affairs, whose 
sentences are oracles with some, gives this as his opin- 
ion of plays, and the like recreations, "That they 
were more pernicious and abominable, than those 
idolatrous sacrifices, which were offered in honour of 
their Pagan gods."^ Doubtless he thought the one 
not so offensive to reason, and the impressions Divinity 
hath made on every understanding, as the other were 
very pleasant to the senses, and therefore apt to steal 
away the mind from better things. For it was his 
maxim, " That everything a man doeth, is either an 
hinderance or furtherance to good."^ This would be 
esteemed intolerable doctrine in a poor Quaker ; yet 
will the poor Quakers rejoice, if it be esteemed and 
followed, as good doctrine in Augustine. 

Sect. 14. The council of Carthage, though times 
began to look somewhat mistier, and the purity and 
spirituality of religion to be much declined by the pro- 
fessors of Christianity ; yet there was so much zeal 
left against the worst part of Heathenism, that I find 
an express Canon against the reading of vain books 
and comedies of the Gentiles, lest the minds of the 
people should be defiled by them. But this age either 
hath no such canon, or executeth it not, to the shame 
of their profession. 

Sect. 15. Cardan more particularly relateth, how 

1 August, de civit. Dei, 1. 2, c. 7. ^ De ira Dei, 1. 2, c 7. 



358 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

even Gregory the Great was so zealous of preserving 
purity of manners among Christians, who lived almost 
two hundred years after the Carthaginian council, that 
he caused many Latin authors to be burned, as vain 
and lascivious ; as Csecilianus, Affranius, Nsevius, 
Licinus, Zennius Attilius, Victor, Livy's Dialogues : 
Nor did Plautus, Martial, and Terence, so much in 
request, both in the schools and academies of the land, 
escape their honest zeal, although the multitude of 
copies so far frustrated their good intentions, as that 
they are multiplied of late.^ 

Sect. 16. Gratian also had such like passages as 
these, " TVe see that the priests of the Lord, neglecting 
the gospel and the prophets, read comedies or play- 
books, and sing love-verses, and read Virgil, a book 
in which are yet some good expressions."^ Strange ! 
that these things should have been so severely cen- 
sured of old, and that persons whose names are had 
in so much reverence, should repute these their cen- 
sures the construction of Christ's precepts, and the 
natural consequences of the Christian doctrine; and yet 
that they should be so far neglected of this age, as 
not to be judged worthy an imitation. But pray let us 
hear what doctrine the Waldenses teach in this affair. 

Sect. 17. Petrus Bellonius, that great and in- 
quisitive traveller, when he came to Mount Athos, 
where there live in several monasteries six thousand 
Coloeri, or religious persons, so called, he did not so 
much as find there, no, nor in all Greece, one man ac- 
quainted with the conversation of those parts; for 
though they had several manuscripts of divinity in their 

» Cardan, de Sapient. 1. 2. 

* Jac. Laurentio de lib. Gentil, p. 40, 41 



359 

libraries, jet not one poet or historian ; for the rulers 
of that church were such enemies to that sort of learn 
ingj that they anathematized all such priests and re- 
ligious persons, as should read or transcribe any books 
but what treated of religion : and persuaded all others, 
that it was not lawful for a Christian to study poesy, 
&c. though nothing is more grateful in these days. 
Zeno was of the same opinion against poetry.^ 

Sect. 18. Waldenses, were a people so called from 
one Peter Waldo, a citizen of Lyons, in France, in the 
year 1160, that inhabited Piedmont, elsewhere called 
Albigenses, from the country of Albia; Lollards in 
England, from one Reynard Lollard, who some time 
after came into these parts and preached boldly against 
the idolatries, superstitions, and vain conversation of 
the inhabitants of this island. They had many other 
names, as Arnoldists, Esperonists, Henricians, Siccars, 
Insabaches, Patarenians, Turlupins, Lyonists, Frati- 
celli, Hussites, Bohemians, still the same; but finally, 
by their enemies. Damnable Heretics, though by the 
Protestants, The true Church of Christ. And to 
omit many testimonies, I will only instance in bishop 
Usher, who, in his discourse of the succession of the 
Christian church defends them not only as true re- 
formers, but makes the succession of the Protestant 
church to be mainly evincible from their antiquity. I 
shall forbear all the circumstances and principles they 
held, or in which he strongly defends them against the 
cruelty and ignorance of their adversaries particular- 
ly Rainerius, Rubis Capetaneis, &c.^ only what they 

1 Pet. Bell, obser. 1. 1, c. 35; ibid. c. 40, cap. 39. 

2 XII. Cap. Hist, de orig. Walden. Vignia Hist. Bibl. p.. 130. Dubran. 
Hist. Bohem. 14. Thuan. in. Hist. sui. temp, p. 458. Mat. Paris. Hist. 



860 NO CROSS, XO CROWX. 

held concerning our present subject of Apparel and 
Recreations, I cannot be so injurious to the truth, 
their self-denial, the good of others, at whose refor- 
mation I aim, and mj own discourse, as to omit it. 
And therefore I shall proceed to allege their faith and 
practice in these matters, however esteemed but of a 
trifling importance, bj the loose, wanton, and carnal 
minded of this generation, whose feeling is lost bj the 
enjoyment of their inordinate desires, and that think 
it an high state of Christianity to be no better than 
the beasts that perish, namely, in not being excessive 
in Newgate and mere kennel-enormities. That these 
ancient reformers had another sense of these things, 
and that they made the conversation of the gospel of 
a crucified Jesus to intend and require another sort 
of life, than what is used by almost all those who 
account themselves members of his church, I shall 
shew out of their own doctrines, as found in their most 
authentic histories. 

Sect. 19. To be brief: in their exposition upon the 
Lord's prayer, that part of it which speaks thus, 
" Give us this day our daily bread;" where, next to that 
spiritual bread, which they make it the duty of .all to 
seek more than life, they come positively to deny the 
praying for more than is requisite for outward neces- 
sities, or that it is lawful to use more; condemning all 
superfluity and excess, out of fashion, pride, or wan- 
tonness, not only of bread, but all outward things, 
which they judge to be thereby comprehended ; using 
Ezekiel's words, " That fulness of bread, and abund- 
ance of idleness, was the cause of the wickedness and 

of Engl. An. 1174. Bellar. torn. 2, lib. 1, cap. 26, co. 86. Ecchius, com. 
loc. c. 28. Alp. 1. 6. Con. Hierct. p. 99. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 361 

the abominations of Sodom, for which God bj fire 
destroyed them off the earth. "^ Whereupon they 
conclude, with an ancient father of the primitive 
church, after this manner, " That costly apparel, 
superfluity in diet, (as three dishes, when one will 
serve) play, idleness and sleep, fatten the body, nou- 
rish luxury, weaken the spirit, and lead the soul unto 
death : But (say they) a spare diet, labour, short 
sleep, plain and mean garments, help to purify the 
soul, tame the body, mortify the lusts of the flesh and 
comfort the spirit." So severe were they, that in 
that chapter of the instructions of their children, they 
would not suffer them to converse with those of strange 
places or principles, whose conversation was gaming, 
plays, and the like wanton recreations; but especially 
concerning young women. "A man, say they, must 
have a great care of his daughter : hast thou daugh- 
ters ? keep them within to wholesome things ; see 
they wander not : for Dinah, Jacob's daughter, was 
corrupted by being seen of strangers."^ They affirm 
no better to be the general event of such conversa- 
tion. 

To which I shall add their judgment and practice 
concerning taverns, public houses for treats and plea- 
sures, with which the land swarms in our days. 

Sect. 20. "A tavern is the fountain of sin, the 
school of the Devil; it works wonders fitting the 
place : it is the custom of God to shew his power in 
"his church, and to work miracles ; that is to say, to 

1 Jo. Paul. Per. Hist. Wald. in cat. 1. 1, c. 3, p. 37, 31. Dona nos le 
nostre pan quotidian, en. choi. Memor. Morrel. Yign. Mem. f. 7. Ezek. 
xvi. 45. Thesaur. fed. Ap. Wald. 

2 Ibid. 1. 2, c. 3. Lifilli sign, naisson ali patrons carnals. de non esser 
rendus, &c. 



362 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

give sight to the spiritually blind, to make the lame 
to leap, the dumb to sing, the deaf to hear : but the 
Devil doeth quite the contrary to all these in taverns, 
and the like places of pleasure. For when the 
drunkard goes to the tavern, he goes upright; but 
when he comes forth, he cannot go at all ; he has lost 
his sight, speech, and hearing too. The lectures that 
are read in this school of the Devil, say these poor 
Waldenses, and first reformers, are gluttonies, oaths, 
perjuries, lyings, blasphemies, flatteries, and divers 
other wicked villanies and pernicious effects, by which 
the heart is withdrawn farther and farther from God.^ 
And, as the book of Ecclesiasticus saith, " The taver- 
ner shall not be freed from sin." 

But above other recreations, do but seriously ob- 
serve of what danger and ill consequence these first 
reformers thought Dancing, Music, and the like pas- 
times to be, which are the greatest divertisements of 
the times, viz. 

Sect. 21. " Dancing is the Devil's procession, and 
he that enters into a dance, entereth into his pro- 
cession ; the Devil is the guide, the middle, and the 
end of the dance ; as many paces as a man maketh 
in dancing, so many paces doth he make to go to hell. 
A man sinneth in dancing divers ways, for all his 
steps are numbered ; in his touch, in his ornaments, 
in his hearing, sight, speech, and other vanities. And 
therefore we will prove, first by the scripture, and 
afterwards by divers other reasons, how wicked a 
thing it is to dance. The first testimony that we will 
produce, is that which we read in the gospel, where it 

1 Ibid. 1, 2, c. 3. La taverna de maisons de pleisirs es fortuna de pecca 
Escbola del Diavola, &c. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 363 

is said, it pleased Herod so well, that it cost John 
Baptist his life. The second is in Exodus, when 
Moses coming near to the congregation, saw the calf, 
he cast the tables from him, and broke them at the 
foot of the mountain ; and afterwards it cost three 
thousand of their lives. Besides, the ornaments which 
women wear in their dances are as crowns for many 
victories, which the Devil hath got against the child- 
ren of God; for the Devil hath not only one sword in 
the dance, but as many as there are beautiful and 
well-adorned persons in the dance ; for the words of 
a woman are a glittering sword. And therefore that 
place is much to be feared, wherein the enemy hath 
so many swords, since that only one sword of his may 
be justly feared." Again, "The Devil in this place 
strikes with a sharpened sword ; for the women, who 
make it acceptable, come not willingly to the dance, 
if they be not painted and adorned ; which, painting 
and ornament, is as a whetstone, on which the Devil 
sharpeneth his sword. — They that deck and adorn 
their daughters, are like those that put dry wood to 
the fire, to the end it may burn the better : for such 
women kindle the fire of luxury in the hearts of men. 
As Samson's foxes fired the Philistines' corn; so these 
women, they have fire in their faces, and in their 
gestures and actions, their gl_ances and wanton words, 
by which they consume the goods of men." They 
proceed, " The Devil in the dance useth the strongest 
armour that he hath ; for his most powerful arms are 
women : which is made plain unto us, in that the 
Devil made choice of the woman to deceive the first 
man: so did Balaam, that the children of Israel might 
be rejected of God. By a woman he made Samson, 



I . 



364 

David, and Absalom to sin. The Devil tempteth men 
bj women tbree manner of ways ; that is, by the 
touch, by the eye, by the ear ; by these three means 
he tempteth foolish men to dancing, by touching their 
hands, beholding their beauty, hearing their songs and 
music." — Again, "They that dance break that promise 
and agreement they made with God in baptism, when 
their godfathers promise for them. That they shall 
renounce the Devil and all his pomp : for dancing is 
the pomp of the Devil ; and he that danceth, main- 
tain^th his pomp, and singeth his mass. For the 
woman that singeth in the dance, is the prioress, or 
chiefest of the Devil, and those that answer are the 
clerks, and the beholders are the parishioners, and 
the music are the bells, and the fiddlers the ministers 
of the Devil. Tor, as when hogs are strayed, if the 
hogherd call one, all assemble themselves together ; 
so the devil causetli one woman to sing in the dance, 
or to play on some instrument, and presently gather all 
the dancers together." Again, "In a dance, a man 
breaks the Ten Commandments of God : as first, 
" Thou shalt have no other Gods but me," &c. for in 
dancing a man serves that person whom he most de- 
sires to serve, after whom goes his heart:' and 
therefore Jerom saith, " Every man's God is that he 
serves and loves best, and that he loves best, which 
his thoughts wander and gad most after." He sins 
against the Second commandment, when he makes an 
idol of that he loves. Against the Third ; in that 
oaths, and frivolously using God's name, are fre- 

1 La Bales la profef. del Diavol. & qui intra an la Bal. &c. Sp. Aim. 
fol. 50, 51, 52, 53, 54. Job xiv. 16. Ps. xxxvii. 23. Prov. xvi. 9. 
Jer. X. 23. Mark vi. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, Exod. xxxii. 4, 5, 6, 7. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 365 

quently amongst dancers. Against the fourth ; for 
that by dancing the sabbath-day is profaned. Against 
the Fifth ; for in the dance parents are many times 
dishonoured, since thereby many bargains are made 
without their counsel. Against the Sixth ; a man 
kills in dancing: for every one that sets about to 
please another, he kills the soul as oft as he persuades 
unto lust. Against the Seventh ; for the party that 
danceth, be it male or female, committeth adultery 
with the party they lust after ; " for he that looketh 
on a, woman to lust after her, hath already committed 
adultery vrith her in his heart." Against the Eighth; 
a man sins in dancing, when he withdraweth the heart 
of another from God. Against the Ninth, when in 
dancing he speaks falsely against the truth, and for 
some little honour, or secret lascivious end, denies 
what is true, or affirms what is false. Against the 
Tenth, when women affect the ornaments of others, 
and men covet the wives, daughters and servants of 
their neighbours, which undeniably attends all such 
plays and sports." Again, " A man may prove hov/ 
great an evil dancing is, by the multitude of sins that 
accompany those that dance, for they dance without 
measure or number : and therefore, saith Augustine, 
the miserable dancer knows not, that as many paces 
as he makes in dancing, so many leaps he makes to 
hell.^ They sin in their ornaments after a five-fold 
manner : First, by being proud thereof. Secondly, 
by inflaming the hearts of those that behold them. 
Thirdly, when they make those ashamed, that have not 
the like ornaments, giving them to covet the like. 
Fourthly, by making women importunate in demand- 

' Jerom. in dec. int. oper. 



366 

ing the like ornaments, of their husbands: and, Fifthly, 
when they cannot obtain them of their husbands, they 
seek to get them elsewhere by sin. They sin by 
singing and playing on instruments ; for their songs 
bewitch the hearts of those that hear them with 
temporal delight, forgetting God ; uttering nothing 
in their songs but lies and vanities; and the very 
motion of the body, which is used in dancing, gives 
testimony enough of evil. — Thus you see, that danc- 
ing is the Devil's procession, and he that enters" into a 
dance enters into the Devil's procession. Of dancing, 
the Devil is the guide, the middle, and the end; and he 
that entereth a good and wise man into the dance, if it 
can be that such an one is either good or wise, cometh 
forth a corrupt and wicked man: Sarah, that holy wo- 
man was none of these. "^ Behold the apprehensions 
of those good old reformers, touching those things that 
are so much in practice and reputation in these times, 
with such as profess their religion ; thus far verbatim. 
But I cannot leave off here till I have yet added the 
conclusion of their Catechism and Direction, with 
some passages out of one of their pastor's letters, fit 
to the present occasion. 

They conclude with this direction ; namely. How to 
rule their bodies, and live in this world, as becomes 
the children of God. Not to serve the mortal desires 
of the flesh. To keep their members, that they be 
not arms of iniquity, and vanity. To rule their out- 
ward senses. To subject the body to the soul. To 
mortify their members. To fly idleness. To observe 
a sobriety and measure in eating and drinking, in 
their words and cares of this life. To do works of 

' August, de Civit. Dei. 



367 

mercy. To live a moral, or just, life by faith. To 
fight against the desires. To mortify the works of 
the flesh. To give themselves to the exercise of reli- 
gion. To confer together touching the will of God. 
To examine diligently the conscience. To purge, and 
amend, and pacify the spirit.' 

To which I shall add the epistle of one of their 
pastors, as I find it recorded amongst other matters 
relating to these poor afflicted people. 

Sect. 22. An Epistle of Pastor Bartholomew Ter- 
tian, written to the Waldensian churches of the valley 
of Pragela, thus translated. 

JESUS BE WITH YOU. 

To all our faithful and well-beloved brethren in 
Christ Jesus, health and salvation be with you all, 
Amen. These are to put you in remembrance, and 
to admonish you, my brethren, hereby acquitting my- 
self of that duty which I owe unto you all, in the 
behalf of God, principally touching the care of your 
souls' salvation, according to that light of the truth 
which the most high God hath bestowed on us, that 
it would please every one of you to maintain, increase 
and nourish, to the uttermost of your power, without 
diminution, those good beginnings and examples, 
which have been left unto us by our fore-fathers, 
whereof we are no ways worthy. For it would little 
profit us to have been renewed by the fatherly visita- 
tion, and the light which hath been given us of God, 
if we give ourselves to worldly, carnal conversations, 
which are diabolical, abandoning the principle which 

1 Ibid, l.-ii. Concl. p. 68. Encaren qual manierc, fidel. debian. regir. 
li ler. corps. Nod servali desirier rnort. &c. 



368 

is of God, and the salvation of our souls, for this 
short and temporal life.^ For the Lord saith, "What 
doth it profit a man to gain the whole world, and to 
lose his own soul ?" For it would be better for us 
never to have known the way of righteousness, than 
having known it to do the contrary. Let me therefore 
entreat you, by the love of God, that you decrease not, 
or look back ; but rather increase the charity, fear 
and obedience, which is due unto God, and to your- 
selves, amongst yourselves; and stand fast in all these 
good principles, which you have heard and understood 
of God by our means : and that you would remove 
from amongst you all vain conversation and evil sur- 
mises, troubling the peace, the love, the concord, and 
whatsoever would indispose or deaden your minds to 
the service of God, your own salvation, and the ad- 
ministration of the truth, if you desire that God 
should be merciful to you in your goods temporal and 
spiritual : For you can do nothing without him ; and 
if you desire to be heirs of his glory, do that which 
he commandeth : "If you would enter into life, keep 
my commandments."^ 

Likewise be careful, that there be not nourished 
among you, any sports, gluttony, whoredom, dancings, 
nor any lewdness, or riot, nor questions, nor deceits, 
nor usury, nor discords, nor support or entertain any 
persons of a wicked conversation, or that give any 
scandal or ill example amongst you ; but let charity 
and fidelity reign amongst you, and all good example; 
doing one to another as every one desires should be 
done unto him ; for otherwise it is impossible that any 
should be saved or can have the grace of God, or be 

1 Hidt. Wald. 1. i, c. 11, p. 55, 56, 57. " Matt. xix. 17. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 369 

good men in this world, or have glory in another. 
And therefore, if you hope and desire to possess eter- 
nal life, to live in esteem and credit, and to prosper in 
this "world, in your goods temporal and spiritual, purge 
yourselves from all disorderly ways, to the end that 
God may be always with you, who forsakes not those 
that trust in him. But know this for certain, that 
God heareth not, nor dwelleth with sinners, nor in 
the soul that is given unto wickedness, nor in the man 
that is subject to sin. And therefore let every one 
cleanse the ways of his heart, and fly the danger, if 
he would not perish therein. I have no other thing 
at this present, but that you would put in practice 
these things ; and the God of peace be with you all, 
and go along with us, and be present among us in 
our sincere, humble and fervent prayers ; and that he 
will be pleased to save all those his faithful, that trust 
in Christ Jesus. 
Entirely yours, ready to do you service in all things 
possible, according unto the will of God, 

Bartholomew Tertian. 

Sect. 23. Behold the life and doctrine, instruction 
and practice of the ancient Waldenses ! how harm- 
less, how plain, how laborious, how exceeding serious 
and heavenly in their conversations ! These were the 
men, women, aye, and children too, who, for above 
five hundred years, have valiantly, but passively, main- 
tained a cruel war, at the expense of their own in- 
nocent blood, against the unheard-of cruelties and 
severities of several princes, nuncios, and bishops ; 
but above all, of certain cruel inquisitors, of whom 
their historians report, that they held it was a greater 
24 



370 

evil to conceal an heretic, than to be guilty of perjury; 
and for a clergyman to marry a -^'ife, than to keep a 
whore. In short, to dissent, though never so consci- 
entiously, was worse than open immorality. It was 
against the like adversaries these poor Waldenses 
fought, by sufferings throughout the nations, by 
prisons, confiscations, banishments, wandering from 
hill to valley, from den to cave, being mocked, 
whipped, racked, thrown from rocks and towers, 
driven on mountains, and in one night thousands per- 
ished by excessive frosts and snows, smothered in 
caves, starved, imprisoned, ripped up, hanged, dis- 
membered, rifled, plundered, strangled, broiled, roast- 
ed, burned ; and whatsoever could be invented to ruin 
men, women and children.* These Waldenses you 
Protestants pretend to be your ancestors ; from them 
you say you have your religion ; and often, like the 
Jews of the prophets, are you building their praises 
in your discourses : but oh ! look back, I beseech you, 
how unlike are you to these afflicted pilgrims ! What 
resemblance is there of their life in yours ? Did they 
help to purchase and preserve you a liberty and reli- 
gion, can you think, at the loss of all that was dear 
to them, that you might pass away your days and 
years in pride, wantonness and vanity ? Yv^hat pro- 
portion bears your excess with their temperance? 
your gaudiness with their plainness ? your luxury 
and flesh-pleasing conversations with their simplicity 
and self-denial ? But are you not got into that spirit 
and nature they condemned in their day ? into that 

1 Bern, de Cir. lord de Hail. Hist, de la Fr. 1. 10. vesemb. Orat. in 
Wald. Beza Hist. horn. dig. virer. de yer. & falsa Rel. 1. 4, c. 13, p. 249. 
Cat. Test. ve. 334. Vigin. Bib. Hist. p. 1. Vieaux. Mem. fol. 6, 7. 
Mat. Par. in Hen. 3, An. 1220. Sigonius de Reg. Ital. 7. 



NO CROWN. 371 

carnality and worldlj-mindedness they reproved in 
their persecutors ? nay, into a strain of persecution 
too, -whilst you seem to hide all under a cloak of re- 
formation ? How can you hope to confute their per- 
secutors, whose worst part perhaps was their cruelty, 
that turn persecutors yourselves ? What have you, 
besides their good words, that is like them. And do 
you think that words will fend off the blows of eternal 
vengeance ? that a little by-rote-babble, though of 
never so good expressions in themselves, shall serve 
your turn at the great day ?^ No, from God I tell 
you, that whilst you live in the wantonness, pride, 
and luxury of the world, pleasing and fulfilling the 
lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of 
life, God detests you all, and laughs you and your 
worship to scorn.^ Never tell me, I am too rash, it 
is the Devil that says so : he has got two scriptures 
by the end in these days ; one, " That there is none 
that doeth good ;" and why ? that he may persuade 
all, it is impossible to overcome him ; which is the 
reason so many are overcome : although glory is pro- 
mised to none but conquerors. The second, " That 
we must not judge, lest we be judged :" that is, whilst 
we are guilty of the same things that are equivalent, 
lest we are judged.^ But away with Satan and his 
hypocrisy too : I know what I say, and from whom I 
speak : once more I tell you all, whether you will 
hear or forbear, that unless you forsake your pride, 
luxury, avarice, and whole variety of vanities, and 
diligently mind the eternal light of God in your 
hearts, to obey it, wrath will be your portion for ever. 

1 Sernay, c. 47. Chef. 1. 3, c. 7. ^ 1 John ii. 14, 15, 16, 17. 

I The devil a scripturian sometimes. 



372 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

Trust not your souls upon misapplied scriptures; "He 
that is a child of God, must be holj, for God is holy, 
and none are his sons and daughters, but those ■who 
are adopted by the eternal Spirit, and led thereby."^ 
It was an holy, plain, humble, divine life, these poor 
suffering Christians both professed and practised, re- 
fusing to converse with such as lived in the super- 
fluities and excess of the world; for which, if you 
will believe their very adversaries, they were perse- 
cuted : for says Kainerius, a great writer against 
them, " They use to teach, first, what the disciples of 
Christ ought to be, and that none are his disciples but 
they that imitate his life ; and that the popes, cardi- 
nals, &;c. because they live in luxury, pride, avarice, 
&c. are not the successors of Christ ; but themselves 
only, in that they walk up to his commandments : 
thus, says he, they win upon the people." But if so, 
that none are Christians but those that imitate Christ, 
what will become of those who call themselves Chris- 
tians,' and yet live at ease in the flesh, not regarding 
the work of the holy cross of Christ in their hearts, 
that crucifies them that bear it to the world, and the 
world to them ? This was the true ground of their 
sufferings, and their loud cries against the impieties 
of the greatest ; not sparing any ranks, from the 
throne to the dunghill, as knowing their God was no 
respecter of persons.^ And now, if you would follow 
them ind-^ed, if you would be Protestants in substance, 
and learn your enemies a way worth their changing, 
for else better words go but a little way, if you would 

1 1 Pet. i, 12, 13, 14. Rom. viii. 1 to 16. 

2 Rain. cap. de stud, pervert, alios & modo dieendi. 1. 98. Barron. 
Ecc. Annal. torn. 12, an. 1176, p. 835. Kranz. in Metrop. 1. 8, sect. 18, 
& in Sax. 1. 8, cap. 16. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 373 

obtain the heavenly inheritance, and you would be 
eternally blessed, be ye persuaded to forsake all the 
pride and the pomp of this vain ^world. mind the 
concerns of an everlasting rest ! Let the just and 
serious principle of God within you be the constant 
guide and companion of your minds ; and let your 
whole hearts be exercised thereby ; that you may ex- 
perience an entire reformation and change of affec- 
tions, through the power of that Divine Leaven, which 
leavens the whole lump,^ viz. body, soul, and spirit, 
where it is received : to which, and its work in man, 
our blessed Lord likened the kingdom of God, which 
he came to set up in the soul : that so having the joys 
and glory of another world in your view, you may 
give your best diligence to make your calling and elec- 
tion, to the possession of them, sure and certain ; lest 
selling that noble inheritance for a poor mess of per- 
ishing pottage, you never enter into his eternal rest. 
And though this testimony may seem tedious, yet 

could it by no means be omitted. To authorize our 

last reason, of converting superfluities into the relief 
of distressed persons, although one would think it is 
so equal and sober, that it needs no other authority 
than its own, yet, I shall produce two testimonies, so 
remarkable, that as they ever were esteemed truly 
good, so they cannot be approved by any that refuse 
to do the same, without condemning themselves of great 
iniquity. you are called with an high and holy 
call ; as high as heaven, and as holy as God ; for it 
is he that calls us to holiness, through Christ, who 
sent his Son to bless us, in turning us from the evil 
of our ways ; and unless we are so turned, we can 

1 Matt. xiii. 33. 



374 

have no claim to the blessing that comes by Christ to 
men. 

Sect. 24. It is reported of Paulinus, bishop of 
Nola, in Italy; that instead of converting the domains 
of his diocese to particular enrichments, he employed 
it all in the redemption of poor slaves and prisoners-; 
believing it unworthy of the Christian faith, to see 
God's creation labour under the want of what he had 
to spare. ^ All agree this was well done, but few agree 
to do the same. 

Sect. 25. But more particularly of AcACius, bishop 
of Amida, given us by Socrates Scholasticus, in this 
manner ; " When the Roman soldiers purposed in no 
wise to restore again unto the king of Persia such 
captives as they had taken at the winning Azazena, 
being about seven thousand in number, to the great 
grief of the king of Persia, and all of them ready to 
starve for food ; Acacius lamented their condition, 
and calling his clergy together, said thus unto them, 
Our God hath no need of Dishes or Cups, for he nei- 
ther eateth nor drinketh; these are not his necessa- 
ries : wherefore seeing the church hath many pre- 
cious Jewels, both of Gold and Silver, bestowed of 
the free will and liberality of the faithful, it is re- 
quisite that the captive soldiers should be therewith 
redeemed, and delivered out of prison and bondage ; 
and they, perishing with famine, should therewith be 
refreshed and relieved. Thus he prevailed to have 
them all converted into money ; some for their imme- 
diate refreshment, some for their redemption, and the 
rest for costage or provision, to defray the charges of 
their voyage.^ Which noble act had such an universal 

1 Ecc. Hist p. 5, 393. « Socrat. Scholast. 1. 7, c. 21. 



■■■ 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 375 

influence, that it more famed the Christian religion 
amongst the Infidels, than all their disputes and bat- 
tles : Insomuch that the king of Persia, and an Hea- 
then, said, The Romans endeavoured to win their 
adversaries both by wars and favours ; and greatly 
desired to behold that man, whose religion taught so 
much charity to enemies ; which, it is reported, Theo- 
dosius, the emperor, commanded Acacius to gratify 
him in." And if the apostle Paul's expression hath 
any force, " That he is worse than an infidel, who 
provides not for his family;"^ how greatly doth this 
example aggravate your shame, that can behold such 
pity and compassion expressed to strangers, nay ene- 
mies, and those Infidels too, and be so negligent of 
your own family, for England, aye, Christendom, in a 
sense, if not the World, is no more, as not only to 
see their great necessities unanswered, but that where- 
with they should be satisfied, converted to gratify the 
lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of 
life. But however such can please themselves, in the 
deceitful daubing of their mercenary priests, and dream 
they are members of Jesus Christ, it is certian that 
things were otherwise in the beginning ; for then all 
was sold and put into a common purse, to supply in- 
digencies; Not mattering earthly inheritances, farther 
than as they might in some sense be subservient to 
the great end for which they were given, namely, the 
good of the creation. Thus had the purest Christians 
their minds and thoughts taken up with the better 
things, and raised with the assurance of a more ex- 
cellent life and inheritance in the heavens, that will 
never pass away.^ And for any to flatter themselves 

1 1 Tim. V. 1. 2 Acts iv. 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37. 



376 

with being Christians, whilst so much exercised in the 
vanities, recreations, and customs of the world, as to 
this very day we see they are, is to mock the great 
God, and abuse their immortal souls. The Christian 
life is quite another thing. 

And lest that any should object, "Many do great 
and seemingly good actions to raise their reputation 
only : and others only decry pleasure, because they 
have not wherewithal, or know not how to take it;" 
I shall present them with serious sayings of Aged and 
Dying men, and those of the greatest note and rank ; 
whose experience could not be wanting to give the 
truest account how much their Honours, Riches, 
Pleasures, and Recreations conduced to their satisfac- 
tion, upon a just reckoning, as well before their extreme 
moments, as upon their dying beds, when Death, that 
hard passage into eternity, looked them in the face. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

SERIOUS DYING, AS WELL AS LIVING, TESTIMONIES. 

Sect. 1. Solomon. 2. Chilon, 3. Ignatius. 4. Justin Martyr. 5. 
Chrysostom. 6. Charles V. 7. Michael dc Montaigne. 8. Cardinal 
Wolsey. 9. Sir Philip Sidney. 10. Secretary Walsingham. 11. Sir 
John Mason. 12. Sir Walter Raleigh. 13. H. Wotton. 14. Sir 
Christopher Hatton. 15. Lord chancellor Bacon. 16. The great duke 
of Montmorency. 17. Henry prince of Wales. 18. Philip III. king of 
Spain. 19. Count Gondamor. 20. Cardinal Richelieu. 21. Cardinal 
Alazarine. 22. Chancellor Oxcistern. 23. Dr. Dun. 24. Jo. Selden. 
25. H. Grotius. 26. P. Salmasius. 27. Fran. Junius. 28. A. Rivetus. 
29. The late earl of Marlborough. 30. Sir Henry Vane. 31. Abra- 
ham Cowley. 32. Late earl of Rochester. 33. One of the family of 
Howard. 34. Princess Elizabeth of the Rhine. 35. Commissioner 
Whitlock. 36. A sister of the family of Penn. 37. My own father. 
38. Anthony Lowther of Mask. 39. Seigneur du llenti. 

III. The serious Apprehensions and Expressions of 
several Aged and Dying Men of Fame and Learning. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 377 

Sect. 1. Solomon, than whom none is believed 
to have more delighted himself in the enjoyments of 
the world, at least better to have understood them ; 
hear what he says, after all his experience; ''I said 
in my heart. Go to now; I will prove thee with Mirth ; 
therefore enjoy Pleasure : And behold, this also is 
vanity. I said of Laughter, It is mad ; and of Mirth, 
What doeth it ? I made me great Works, builded 
Houses, planted vineyards, made Gardens and Orchards, 
planted trees in them of all kind of fruit: I got me Ser- 
vants and Maidens; also great possessions; I gathered 
me Silver and Gold, and the peculiar treasures of Kings 
and Provinces ; also men and Women Singers, and the 
delights of the sons of Men ; as Musical Instruments, 
and that of all sorts : So I was great, and increased 
more than all that were before me in Jerusalem ; and 
whatsoever mine eyes desired, I kept not from them ; 
I withheld not mine heart from any joy. Then I 
looked on all the works which my hands had wrought, 
and behold, All was vanity and vexation of spirit."^ 
The reason he gives in the 18th and 19th verses is, 
that the time of enjoying them was very short, and it 
was uncertain who should be benefitted by them when 
he was gone. Wherefore he concludes all with this ; 
"Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is 
the whole duty of man : For God shall bring every 
work into judgment, whether it be good, or whether it 
be evil." Oh, that men would lay this to heart ! 

Sect. 2. Chilon, one of the seven wise men of 
Greece, already mentioned upon another occasion, 
affords us a dying testimony of great example : It is 
related thus by Agellius : When his life drew towards 

* EccL ii. 1 to 11. 



378 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

an end, ready to be seized by death, he spoke thus to 
his friends about him: " My words and actions in this 
long term of years, have been, almost all, such as I 
need not repent of; which, perhaps, you also know. 
Truly, even at this time I am certain, I never com- 
mitted any thing, the remembrance of which begets 
any trouble in me, unless this one thing only ; which 
whether it were done amiss, or not, I am uncertain. 
I sat with two others, as judge, upon the life of my 
Friend ; the law was such, as the person must of ne- 
cessity be condemned; so that either my Friend must 
lose his life, or some deceit be used towards the Law. 
Revolving many things in my mind, for relief of a 
condition so desperate, I conceived that which I put 
in practice to be of all others the most easy to be 
borne : Silently I condemned him, and persuaded 
those others, who judged, to absolve him. Thus I 
preserved in so great a business, the duty both of a 
Judge and Friend. But from that act I received this 
trouble ; that I fear it is not free from perfidiousness 
and guilt, in the same business, at the same time, and 
in a public affair, to persuade others contrary to what 
was in my own judgment best."^ tender conscience! 
Yet an Heathen's ! Where dwells the Christian that 
excelleth ? Hard to be found among the great Rab- 
bles of Christendom. 

Sect. 3. Ignatius, who lived within the first hun- 
dred years after Christ, and was torn in pieces of wild 
beasts at Rome, for his true faith in Jesus, left this, 
amongst other things, behind him : " There is nothing 
better than the peace of a Good Conscience :" Inti- 
mating, there might be a peace to wicked consciences, 

^ Severus, Apop. p. 175. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 379 

that are past feeling anything to be evil, but swal- 
lowed up of the wickedness of the world. And in 
his epistle to the churches at Ephesus, Magnetia, 
Trallis, and Rome, upon \vs mart3a'dom, saith, " Now 
I begin to be a disciple ; I weigh neither visible nor 
invisible things, so that I may gain Christ."^ hea- 
venly-minded man I A blessed martyr of Jesus in- 
deed. 

Sect. 4. .Justin Martyr, a philosopher, who re- 
ceived Christianity five and twenty years after the 
death of Ignatius, plainly tells us, in his relation of 
his conversion to the Christian faith, " That the 
power of godliness in a plain simple Christian had 
that influence and operation on his soul, that he could 
not but betake himself to a serious and strict life:" 
And yet before he was a Cynic ; a strict sect. And 
this gave him joy at his martyrdom, having spent his 
days as a serious teacher, and a good example. And 
Eusebius relates, " That though he was also a follower 
of Plato's doctrine ; yet, when he saw the Christians' 
piety and courage, he concluded, no people so tempe- 
rate, less voluptuous, and more set on divine things:" 
Which first induced him to be a Christian. ^ 

Sect. 5. Chrysostom, another father, so called, 
lays this down for necessary doctrine, " To sacrifice 
the whole soul and body to the Lord, is the highest 
service we can pay unto him. God promiseth mercy 
unto penitent sinners ; but he doth not promise them 
they shall have so much time as to-morrow for their 
repentance. 

Sect. 6. Charles Y. emperor of Germany, king 
of Spain, and lord of the Netherlands, after three 

» Ignatius Epist. ad Ephes. Mag. Trail. Rom. Eus. 1. 3, c. 32. 
2 Euseb. Ecc. Hist. 1. 4, c. 8. 



380 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

and twenty pitched fields, six triumphs, four kingdoms 
conquered, and eight principalities added to his do- 
minions, a greater instance than whom can scarce be 
given, resigned up all his pomp to other hands, and 
betook himself to his retirement ; leaving this testi- 
mony behind him, concerning the life he spent in the 
honours and pleasures of the world, and in that little 
time of his retreat from them all : " That the sincere 
study, profession, and practice of the Christian re- 
ligion, had in it such joys and sweetness, as Courts 
were strangers to." 

Sect. 7. Michael db Montaigne, a lord of France, 
famous with men of letters for his book of Essays, 
giveth these instructions to others, and this character 
of himself, viz. " Amidst our banquets, feasts, and 
pleasures, let us have ever this restraint or object of 
Death before us ; that is, the remembrance of our 
condition : And let not pleasure so much mislead or 
transport us, that we altogether neglect or forget how 
many ways our joys, or our feastings, be subject unto 
Death, and by how many holdfasts she threateneth us 
and you. So did the Egyptians, who in the midst of 
their banquetings, and in the full of their greatest 
cheer, caused the Anatomy of a Dead Man to be 
brought before them, as a memorandum and warning 
to their guests. I am now, by means of the mercy 
of God, in such a taking, that without regret or 
grieving at any worldly matter, I am prepared to 
dislodge, whensoever he shall please to call me. I 
am every where free : My farewell is soon taken of 
all my friends, except of myself. No man did ever 
prepare himself to quit the world more simply and 
fully, or more generally lay aside all thoughts of it. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 381 

than I am fully assured I shall do. All the glory I 
pretend in my life, is, that I have lived Quietly : 
Quietly, not according to Metrodorus, Arcesilaus, or 
Aristippus ; but according to Myself. Since philoso- 
phy could never find any way for tranquillity, that 
might be generally good ;" " Let every man in his 
own particular seek for it." Let us not propose so 
fleeting and so wavering an end unto ourselves, as 
the World's Glory : Let us constantly follow reason : 
And let the Vulgar Approbation follow us that way, 
if it please. I care not so much what I am with 
others, as I respect what I am In Myself : I will be 
rich in myself, and not by borrowing. Strangers see 
but external appearances and events : Every man can 
set a good face upon the matter, when Avithin he is 
full of care, grief and infirmities : They see not my 
heart, when they look upon my outward countenance. 
We are nought but ceremony ; Ceremony doth trans- 
port us, and we leave the Substance of things : we 
hold fast by the boughs, and leave the trunk or body, 
the Substance of things, behind us." 

Sect. 8. Cardinal Wolsey, the most absolute and 
wealthy minister of state this kingdom ever had, that 
in his time seemed to govern Europe as well as Eng- 
land, when come to the period of his life, left the 
world with this close reflection upon himself; "Had 
I been as diligent to serve my God, as I was to please 
my king, he would not have left me now in my grey 
hairs." A dismal reflection for all worldly-minded 
men ; but those more especially who have the power 
and means of doing more good than ordinary in the 
world, and do it not ; which seems to have been the 
case and reflection of this great man. 



382 

Sect. 9. Sir Philip Sidney, a subject indeed of 
England, but, they say, chosen king of Poland ; whom 
queen Elizabeth called Her Philip ; the prince of 
Orange, His Master ; whose friendship the lord 
Brooks was so proud of, that he would have it part of 
his epitaph, "Here lies Sir Philip Sidney's friend:" 
Whose death was lamented in verse by the then kings 
of France and Scotland, and the two universities of 
England, repented so much at his death of that witty 
vanity of his life, his Arcadia, that to prevent tho 
unlawful kindling of heats in others, he would have 
committed it to the flames himself ; and left this fare- 
well amongst his friends, "Love my memory ; cherish 
my friends; their faith to me may assure you that they 
are honest : But above all, govern your will and af- 
fections by the Will and Word of your Creator. In 
me behold the end of this World, and all its Vanities." 
And indeed he was not much out in saying so, since 
in him was to be seen the end of all natural parts, 
acquired learning, and civil accomplishments. His 
farewell seems spoken without terror, with a clear 
sense, and an equal judgment. 

Sect. 10. Secretary WalsiiTGHam, an extraordi- 
nary man in queen Elizabeth's time, towards the con- 
clusion of his days, in a letter to his fellow-secretary, 
Burleigh, then lord treasurer of England, writes thus: 
" We have lived enough to our Country, our Fortunes, 
our Sovereign : It is high time we begin to live to 
Ourselves and to our God." Which giving occasion 
for some court-droll to visit and try to divert him ; 
"Ah ! (saith he) while we laugh, all things are serious 
round about us ; God is serious, when he preserveth 
us ; and hath patience towards us ; Christ is serious, 



383 

when he dieth for us ; the Holy Ghost is serious, 
when he striveth with us ; the whole creation is 
serious, in serving God and us ; they are serious in 
hell and in heaven : And shall a man that hath one 
foot in his grave, Jest and Laugh ?" that our 
statesmen would weigh the conviction, advice, and 
conclusion of this great man ; and the greatest man, 
perhaps, that has borne that character in our nation. 
Eor true it is, that none can be serious too soon, be- 
cause none can be good too soon. Away then with 
all foolish talking and jesting, and let people mind 
more profitable things ! 

Sect. 11. John Mason, knight, who had been 
privy-counsellor to four princes, and spent much time 
in the preferments and pleasure of the world, retired 
with these pathetical and regretful sayings : " After 
so many years experience. Seriousness is the great- 
est Wisdom ; Temperance the best Physic ; a Good 
Conscience is the best Estate. And were I to live 
again, I would change the court for a cloister, my 
privy-counsellor's bustles for an hermit's retirement, 
and the whole life I lived in the palace, for one hour's 
enjoyment of God in the chapel. All things else 
forsake me, besides my God, my Duty, and my 
Prayers." 

Sect. 12. Sir Walter Raleigh is an eminent in- 
stance, being as extraordinary a man as our nation 
hath produced : In his person, well descended ; of 
health, strength, and a masculine beauty : In under- 
standing, quick ; in judgment, sound ; learned and 
wise, valiant and skilful: An Historian, a Philosopher, 
a General, a Statesman. After a long life, full of 
experience, he drops these excellent sayings a little 



384 

before his death, to his son, to his wife, and to the 
world, viz. "Exceed not in the humour of Rags and 
Bravery ; for these will soon wear out of fashion : 
And no man is esteemed for Gay Garments, hut by 
Fools and Women. On the other side, seek not 
Riches basely, nor attain them by evil means : De- 
stroy no man for his Wealth, nor take any thing 
from the Poor ; for the cry thereof will pierce the 
heavens : And it is most detestable before God, and 
most dishonourable before worthy men, to wrest any 
thing from the needy and labouring soul : God will 
never prosper thee, if thou oifendest therein; but use 
thy poor neighbours and tenants well." [A most 
worthy saying ! But he adds] " Have compassion on 
the Poor and Afflicted, and God will bless thee for it : 
Make not the hungry soul sorrowful ; for if he curse 
thee in the bitterness of his soul, his prayer shall be 
heard of him that made him. Now, for the world 
(dear child) I know it too well, to persuade thee to 
dive into the practices of it : Rather stand upon thy 
own guard against all those that tempt thee to it, or 
may practise upon thee ; whether in thy Conscience, 
thy Reputation, or thy Estate: Resolve, that no man 
is Wise or Safe, but he that is Honest. Serve God ; 
let him be the author of all thy actions : Commend 
all thy endeavours to him, that must either wither or 
prosper them ; Please him with prayer ; lest if he 
frown, he confound all thy fortune, and labour, like 
the drops of rain upon the sandy ground. Let my 
experienced advice, and fatherly instruction, sink deep 
into thy heart : So God direct thee in all thy ways, 
and fill thy heart with his grace." 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 385 

Sir Walter RaleigJis Letter to Ms Wife^ after Ms 
condemnation. 

" You shall receive, my dear wife, my last words, in 
these my last lines, My love I send to you, that 
you may keep when I am dead ; and my Counsel that 
you may remember it when I am no more. I would 
not, with my will, present you Sorrows, dear Bess; 
let them go to the grave with me, and be buried in the 
dust : and seeing that it is not the will of God that I 
shall see you any more, bear my destruction patiently ; 
and with an heart like yourself. First, I send you all 
the thanks which my heart can conceive, or my words 
express, for your many travails and cares for me, which 
though they have not taken effect, as you wished, yet 
my debt to you is not the less ; but pay it I never shall 
in this world. Secondly, I beseech you for the love 
you bear me living, that you do not hide yourself many 
days ; but by your travails seek to help my miser- 
able fortunes, and the right of your poor child : your 
mourning cannot avail me, who am but dust. Thirdly, 
you shall understand, that my lands were conveyed, 
{bona fide) to my child ; the writings were drawn at 
Midsummer was a twelve-month, as divers can wit- 
ness ; and I trust my blood will quench their malice, 
who desired my slaughter, that they will not seek to 
kill you and yours with extreme poverty. To what 
friend to direct you I know not ; for all mine have left 
me in the true time of trial. Most sorry am I that 
being surprised by death, I can leave you no better 
estate ; God hath prevented all my determinations, that 
great God which worketh all in all. If you can live 
free from want, care for no more ; for the rest is but 



386 

a vanity. Love God, and begin betimes ; in him shall 
you find true, everlasting and endless comfort : When 
you have travelled, and wearied yourself with all sorts 
of worldly cogitations, you shall sit down by sorrow in 
the end. Teach your son also to Serve and Fear God, 
whilst he is young, that the fear of God, may grow up 
in him ; then will God be an Husband to you, and a 
Father to him ; an Husband and a Father, that can 
never be taken from you. Dear wife, I beseech you, 
for my soul's sake. Pay all Poor Men. When I am 
dead, no doubt but you will be much sought unto ; for 
the world thinks I was very rich ; have a care of the 
fair pretences of men ; for no greater misery can befal 
you in this life, than to become a prey unto the world, 
and after to be despised. As for me, I am no more 
yours, nor you mine : Death has cut us asunder ; and 
God hath divided me from the world, and you from 
me. Remember your poor child, for his father's sake, 
who loved you in his happiest estate. I sued for my 
life, but (God knows) it was for you and yours that I 
desired it : For know it, my dear wife, your child is 
the child of a True Man, who in his own respect des- 
piseth death, and his mishapen and ugly forms. I 
cannot WTite much ; God knows how hardly I steal 
this time, when all are asleep : And it is also time 
for me to separate my thoughts from the world. Beg 
my dead body, which living was denied you ; and 
either lay it in Sherburne, or in Exeter church, by my 
father and mother. I can say no more ; Time and 
death call me away. The everlasting God, powerful, 
infinite, and inscrutable, God Almighty, who is Good- 
ness itself, the True Light and Life, keep you and 
yours, and have Mercy upon Me, and forgive my per- 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 387 

secutors, and false accusers ; and send us to meet in 
his glorious kingdom. My dear wife, farewell ; bless 
my boy, pray for me ; and let my True God hold you 
both in his arms. 

" Yours that was, but not now my own, 

" Walter Kaleigh." 

Behold wisdom,, resolution, nature, and grace ! how 
strong in argument, wise in counsel, firm, affectionate, 
and devout. that your heroes and politicians would 
make him their example in his death, as well as mag- 
nify the great actions of his life. I doubt not, had he 
been to live over his days again, with his experience, 
he had made less noise, and yet done more good to the 
world and himself. It is a sad thing to consider, that 
men hardly come to know themselves, or the world, 
till they are ready to leave it. 

Sect. 13. Henry Wotton, knight, thought it, 
" The greatest happiness in this life to be at leisure, 
to be, and to do good ;" as in his latter end he was 
wont to say, when he reflected on past times, though 
a man esteemed sober and learned, " How much time 
have I to repent of, and how little to do it in !" 

Sect. 14. Sir Christopher Hatton, a little before 
his death, advised his relations to be serious in the 
search after "the will of God in the Holy Word:" 
For, said he, it is deservedly accounted a piece of 
excellent knowledge to understand the law of the 
land, and the customs of a man's country ; how much 
more to know the statutes of heaven, and the laws of 
eternity ; those immutable and eternal laws of justice 
and righteousness ! To know the will and pleasure 
of the Great Monarch and Universal King of the 



388 

world ! "I have seen an end of all perfection ; but 
thy commandmei^ts, God, are exceeding broad." 
Whatever other knowledge a man may be endued 
withal, could he by a vast and imperious mind, and 
an heart as large as the sand upon the sea shore, 
command all the knowledge of art and nature, of 
words and things ; could he attain a mastery in all 
languages, and sound the depth of all arts and 
sciences; could he discourse the interests of all states, 
the intrigues of all courts, the reason of all civil 
laws and constitutions, and give an account of all 
histories ; " and yet not know the Author of his 
being, and the preserver of his life, his sovereign, 
and his judge : his surest refuge in trouble ; his 
best friend, or worst enemy ; the support of his 
life, and the hope of his death ; his future happiness, 
and his portion for ever ; he doth but sapieyiter de- 
scendere in infernwn, w^ith a great deal of wisdom go 
down to hell." 

Sect. 15. Francis Bacon, lord high chancellor of 
England, some time before his death confessed, "That 
to be religious, was to live strictly and severely : For 
if the opinion of another world be false, yet the sweet- 
est life in this world, is piety, virtue, and honesty : If 
it be true, there be none so wretched and miserable, 
as loose, carnal, profane persons." 

Sect. 16. The great duke of Montmorency, col- 
league to the duke of Orleans, brother to the French 
king Lewis the thirteenth, in the war by them agitated 
against the ministry of Cardinal Richelieu, being taken 
and convicted at Lyons, a little before his beheading, 
looking upon hirhself, then very richly attired; "Ah! 
says he, this becomes not a servant of the crucified 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 389 

Jesus ! What do I with these vanities about me ? He 
■was poor, despised, and naked, when he went to the 
cross to die for my sins :" And immediately he stript 
himself of all his finery, and put a more grave and 
modest garment on him. A serious reflection at a 
time when he best knew what was best. 

Sect. IT. Henry, prince of Wales, eldest son to 
king James the First, of whom others say many ex- 
cellent things, hear what account he gives of himself 
at last : A person whom he loved, and that had been 
the companion of his diversions, being with him in 
his sickness, and asking him. How he did ? was, 
amongst many other sober expressions, answered 
thus, " Ah Tom ! I in vain wish for that time I lost 
with thee, and others, in vain recreations." So vain 
were recreations, and so precious was time to a prince, 
and no ordinary one neither, upon a dying-bed. But 
why wished he, with others, for more time, but that 
it might be better employed ? Thus hath the Just 
Principle, and Holy Spirit of God in men, through- 
out all generations, convinced them of their vanity 
and folly upon their dying-beds, who before were too 
much taken up to mind either a dying-bed, or a vast 
eternity ; but when their days were almost numbered, 
when mortality hastened on them, when the revela- 
tion of the righteous judgment was at the door, and 
that all their worldly recreations and enjoyments must 
be parted with, and that eye for ever shut, and flesh 
turned to worms' meat, that took delight therein ; 
then, oh, then it was the Holy Witness had room to 
plead with conscience : Then nothing but a holy, 
strict, and severe life was valuable ; then " All the 
world for a little time," who before had given all their 



890 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

time for a little of a vain world. But if so short a 
representation of the inconsistency of the vanities of 
the world with the Christian life could make so deep 
an impression ; oh ! to what a noble stature, and large 
proportion, had they been grown in all pious and 
heavenly knowledge, and how much greater had their 
rewards been, if they contentedly had foregone those 
perishing entertainments of the world betimes, and 
given the exercise of their minds to the tuition and 
guidance of that Universal Grace and Holy Spirit of 
God, which had so long shined in darkness, uncom- 
prehended of it, and was at last but just perceived 
to give a sight of what they had been doing all their 
days. 

Sect. 18. Philip III. king of Spain, seriously 
reflecting upon the life he had led in the world, cried 
out upon his death-bed, ^' Ah, how happy were I, had 
I spent these twenty-three years that I have held 
my kingdom, in a retirement!" Crying out to his 
confessor, " My concern is for my soul, not my body: 
I lay all that God has given me, my dominion, power, 
and my life, at the feet of Jesus Christ my Saviour." 
Would kings would live, as well as die so ! 

Sect. 19. Count Gondamor, ambassador in Eng- 
land for that very king, and held the ablest man of 
his time, who took great freedom as to his religion in 
his politics, serving his ends by those ways that would 
best accomplish them. When towards his latter end, 
he grew very thoughtful of his past life ; and after all 
his negotiations and successes in business, saith to 
one of his friends, " I fear nothing in the world more 
than sin." Often professing, " He had rather endure 
hell than sin." So clear and strong were his convic- 



NO CROWN. 391 

tions, and so exceeding sinful did sin appear to him, 
upon a serious consideration of his ways. 

Sect. 20. Cardinal Richelieu, after having been 
first minister of state of Europe, as well as of France, 
confessed to old Peter du Moulin, the famous Pro- 
testant of that country, " That being forced upon 
many irregularities by that which they call Reason of 
State, he could not tell how to satisfy his conscience 
for several things ; and therefore had many tempta- 
tions to doubt and disbelieve a God, another world, 
and the immortality of the soul, and thereby to re- 
lieve his -mind from any disquiet, but in vain : 
So strong, he said, was the notion of God on his 
soul, so clear the impression of him upon the frame 
of the world, so unanimous the consent of mankind, 
so powerful the convictions of his own conscience, 
that he could not but " Taste the power of the world 
to come," and so live as one that must die, and so 
die as one that must live for ever." And being asked 
one day. Why he was so sad? answered, Monsieur, 
Monsieur, " the soul is a serious thing ; it must be 
either sad here for a moment, or be sad for ever." 

Sect. 21. Cardinal Mazarine, reputed the cunning- 
est statesman of his time, and who gave great proofs 
of it in the successes of the French crown under his 
ministry : his aim was the Grandeur of the world, to 
which he made all other considerations submit : But, 
poor man ! he was of another mind a little before his 
death : For being awakened by the smart lashes of 
conscience, which represented his soul's condition very 
dismal, with astonishment and tears he cried out, "0 
my poor soul, what will become of thee ! Whither 
wilt thou go ?" And spoke one day thus to the queen 



392 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

mother of France, Madam, your favours have undone 
me : Were I to live again, I -would be a Capuchin, 
rather than a Courtier." 

Sect. 22. Count Oxcistern, chancellor of Swede- 
land, a person of the first quality, station, and ability 
in his own country; and whose share and success, not 
only in the chief ministry of affairs in that kingdom, 
but in the greatest negotiations of Europe, during his 
time, made him no less considerable abroad. After 
all his knowledge and honoar, being visited in his re- 
treat from public business by commissioner Whitlock, 
ambassador to queen Christina, in the conclusion of 
their discourse, he said to the ambassador, " I have 
seen much, and enjoyed much of this world ; but I 
never knew how to Live till now. I thank my good 
God that has given me time to know Him, and to know 
Myself. All the comfort I have, and all the comfort 
I take, and which is more than the whole world can 
give, is Feeling the Good Spirit of God in my heart, 
and reading in this good book, holding up the bible, 
that came from it." And farther addressed himself 
thus to the ambassador : ^' You are now in the prime 
of your age and vigour, and in great favour and busi- 
ness : but this will all leave you, and you will one day 
better understand and relish what I say to you : and 
then you will find that there is more wisdom, truth, 
comfort, and pleasure in retiring and turning your 
heart from the world, to the good Spirit of God, and 
in reading the bible, than in all the courts and favours 
of princes." This I had, as near as I am able to 
remember, from the ambassador's own mouth more 
than once. A very edifying history, when we consi- 
der from whom it came ; one of the greatest and 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 393 

"wisest men of his age ; while his understanding was 
as sound and vigorous, as his experience and know- 
ledge were great. 

Sect. ^3. Dr. Donne, a great poet, taking his fare- 
well of his friends, on his djing-bed, left this saying 
behind him, for them to measure their fancies and 
their actions by : "I repent of all my life, but that 
part of it I spent in communion with God, and doing 
good." 

Sect. 24. Selden, one of the greatest scholars 
and antiquaries of his time ; one who had taken a 
diligent survey of what knowledge was considerable 
amongst the Jews, Heathens, and Christians : at last 
professeth this, toward the end of his days, in his 
conference with bishop Usher, "That notwithstanding 
he had been so laborious in his inquiries, and curious 
in his collections, and had possessed himself of a 
treasure of books and manuscripts upon all ancient 
subjects ; yet he could rest his soul on none, save the 
scriptures :" And above all, that passage lay most 
remarkable upon his spirit, Titus ii. 11, 12, 13, 14, 
15. " For the grace of God, that bringeth salvation, 
hath appeared unto all men ; teaching us, that deny- 
ing ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live 
soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world ; 
looking for that blessed hope, and glorious appearing 
of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ ; who 
gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all 
iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, 
zealous of good works : These things speak and ex- 
hort, and rebuke with all authority." And indeed it 
is one of the most comprehensive passages in scrip- 
ture; for it comprises the End, Means, and Recom- 
pense of Christianity. 



394 

Sect. 25. Hugo Grotius, than whom these latter 
ages think thej have not had a man of more universal 
knowledge, a light, say the Statesmen ; a light, say 
the Churchmen too, witness his "Annals," and his 
book, "De Jure Belli & Pacis;" also his "Christian 
Religion, and Elaborate Commentaries." He winds 
up his life and choice in this remarkable saying, which 
should abate the edge of other men's inordinate de- 
sires after what they falsely call learning: namely, " I 
would give all my learning and honour for the plain 
integrity of Jean Urick," who was a, religious poor 
man, that spent eight hours of his time in prayer, 
eight in labour, and but eight in meals, sleep, and 
other necessaries. And to one that admired his great 
industry, he returned this by way of complaint : 
" Ah ! I have consumed my life in laboriously doing 
nothing." And to another, that inquired of his 
wisdom and learning what course to take? He 
solemnly answered, "Be serious." Such was the 
sense he had, how much a serious life excelled, and 
was of force, towards a dying hour. 

Sect. 26. To whom I join Salmatius, that famous 
French scholar, and the other's contemporary ; who 
after his many volumes of learning, by which he had 
acquired great veneration among men of books, con- 
fessed so far to have mistaken True Learning, and 
that in which solid happiness consists, that he ex- 
claimed thus against himself: "Oh! I have lost a 
^orld of time ! Time, that most precious thing in 
the world ! Whereof, had I but ane year more, it 
should be spent in David's Psalms and Paul's Epistles. 
Oh, Sirs ! said he to those about him, Mind the 
World less, and God more. The fear of the Lord, 



895 

that is wisdom ; and to depart from evil, tliat is un- 
derstanding."^ 

Sect. 27. Francis Junius, an ingenious person, 
who hath written his own life ; as he was reading 
" Tullj de Legibus," fell into a persuasion, "iVz'/ii'Z 
curare Deum, nee sui nee alieni ;'' till in a tumult in 
Lyons the Lord wonderfully delivered him from immi- 
nent death ; so that he was forced to acknowledge a 
divine Providence therein. And his father hearing 
the dangerous ways that his son was misled into, sent 
for him home, where he carefully and piously in- 
structed him, and caused him to read over the New 
Testament ; of which he himself writeth thusr "When 
I opened the New Testament, I first lighted upon 
John's first chapter, " In the beginning was the 
"Word," &c. I read part of the chapter, and was 
suddenly convinced, that the Divinity of the Argu- 
ment, and the majesty and authority of the writing, 
did exceedingly excel all the eloquence of Human 
Writings : My body trembled, my mind was aston- 
ished, and was so affected all that day, that I knew 
not where and what I was. Thou wast mindful of 
me, my God, according to the multitude of thy 
mercies, and calledst home thy lost sheep into the 
fold." And as Justin Martyr of old, so he of late 
professed, " That the power of godliness, in a plain 
simple Christian, wrought so upon him, that he could 
not but take up a strict and a serious life." 

Sect. 28. A Rivetus, a man of learning, and much 
reverenced in the Dutch nation, after a long life of 
study, in search of divine knowledge, upon his death 
bed, being discoursed by his friend of heavenly things, 

1 Prov. ix. 10, and xvi. 17. 



396 

brake forth in this manner ; " God has learned me 
more of himself in ten days' sickness, than I could get 
by all my Labour and Studies." So near a way, so 
short a cut it is to the knowledge of God, when people 
come into the Right Way, which is. To turn in their 
minds and hearts to the voice of God, and learn of 
him, who is a Spirit, to be taught of him, and led by 
him : " For in righteousness such shall be established, 
and great shall be their peace." 

Sect. 29. A Letter from James earl of Marlbo- 
rough, a little before his death, in the battle at sea, 
on the coast of Holland, &c. 

" I believe the goodness of your nature, and the 
friendship you have always borne me, will receive 
with kindness the" last office of your friend. I am in 
health enough of body, and, through the mercy of God 
in Jesus Christ, well disposed in mind. This I pre- 
mise, that you may be satisfied that what I write 
proceeds not from any fantastic terror of mind, but 
from a sober resolution of what concerns myself, and 
earnest desire to do you more good after my death, 
than mine example, God of his mercy pardon the bad- 
ness of it, in my life-time may do you harm. I will 
not speak aught of the vanity of this world; your own 
age and experience will save that labour ; but there 
is a certain thing that goeth up and down the world, 
called Religion, dressed and pretended fantastically, 
and to purposes bad enough ; which yet, by such evil 
dealing, loseth not its being. The Great Good God 
hath not left it without a witness, more or less, sooner 
or later, in every man's bosom to direct us in the 
pursuit of it ; and for the avoiding of those inextricable 
disquisitions and entanglements our own frail reasons 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 39T 

would perplex us withal. God in his infinite mercy 
hath given us his Holy Word ; in which, as there are 
many things hard to be understood, so there is enough 
plain and easy to quiet our minds, and direct us con- 
cerning our future being. I confess to God and you, I 
have been a great neglecter, and, I fear, despiser of it : 
God of his infinite mercy pardon me the dreadful 
fault. But when I retired myself from the noise and 
deceitful vanity of the world, I found no true comfort 
in any other resolution, than what I had from thence. 
I commend, from the bottom of my heart, the same to 
your (I hope) happy use. Dear Hugh, let us be more 
generous, than to believe we die as the beasts that 
perish ; but with a Christian, manly, brave resolution, 
look to what is eternal. I will not trouble you 
farther. The only Great God and Holy God, Father, 
Son, and Holy Ghost, direct you to an happy end of 
your life, and send us a joyful resurrection ! 
" So prays your true friend, 

"Marlborough." 
Sect. 30. The late Sir Henry Yane must be too 
fresh in memory to need a character ; but it is certain 
his parts were of the first rate, and superior to the 
generality of men; yet he would often say, ''He 
owed them to religion." In his youth he was much 
addicted to company, and promised little to business ; 
but in reading of a book called " The signs of a Godly 
Man," and being convicted in himself that they were 
just, but that he had no share in any one of them ; he 
fell into that extreme Anguish and Horror, that for 
some Days and Nights he took little food or rest; 
which at once dissolved his old friendships, and made 
those impressions and resolutions to religion, that 



398 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

neither University, Courts, Princes, nor Parents, nor 
any Losses, or Disappointments, that threatened his 
New Course of Life, could weaken or alter. And 
though this laid him under somedisadvantges for a time, 
his great integrity and abilities quickly broke through 
that obscurity; so that those of very differing senti- 
ments did not only admire, but very often desired him 
to accept the most eminent negotiations of his country; 
which he served according to his own principles, with 
great success, and a remarkable self-denial. This 
great man's maxim was, "Religion was the best Master, 
and the Best Friend; for it made men wise, and would 
never leave them that never left it ;" which he found 
true in himself: For as it made him wiser than those 
that had been his teachers, so it made him firmer than 
any hero, having something more than nature to sup- 
port him, which was the judgment as well of foreigners 
as others, that had the curiosity to see him die ; 
making good some meditations of his own, viz. "The 
Day of Death is the judge of all our other days; the 
very trial and touchstone of the actions of our life. 
It is the end that crowns the work, and a Good Death 
honoureth a man's whole life. The fading corruption 
and loss of this life, is the passage into a better. 
Death is no less essential to us, than to live or to be 
born. In flying Death, thou fliest thyself; thy es- 
sence is equally parted into these two, Life and Death. 
It is no small reproach to a Christian, whose faith is 
in immortality, and the blessedness of another life, to 
fear Death much, which is the necessary passage 
thereunto." 

Sect. 31. Abraham Cowley, whom to name, is 
enough with the men of wit of our time and nation, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 399 

speaks not less in favour of the Temperance and Soli- 
tude so much laboured in the preceding discourse : 
Yet that his judgment may have the more force with 
the reader, it may be fit that I should say. That he 
was a man of a sweet and singular wit, great learning, 
and an even judgment ; that had known what cities, 
universities, and courts could aiFord; and that not only 
at home, but in divers nations abroad. Wearied 
with the world, he broke through all the entanglements 
of it ; and which was hardest, great friendship and a 
perpetual praise ; and retired to a solitary cottage 
near Barn-Elms, where his garden was his pleasure, 
and he his own gardener : Whence he giveth us this 
following doctrine of retirement, which may serve for 
an account how well he w.as pleased in his change. 
" The first work, (saith he) that a man must do to 
make himself capable of the good of solitude, is the 
very eradication of all lusts ; for how is it possible 
for a man to enjoy himself, while his affections are 
tied to things without himself. The first minister of 
state hath not so much business in public, as a wise 
man hath in private : If the one have little leisure to 
be alone, the other hath less leisure to be in company; 
the one hath but part of the afi*airs of one nation, 
the other all the works of God and nature under his 
consideration. There is no saying shocks me so much, 
as that which I hear very often, '* That a man doth 
not know how to pass his time." "It would have 
been but ill spoken of Methuselah, in the nine hundred 
sixty-ninth year of his life. But that is not to de- 
ceive the world, but to deceive ourselves, as Quintilian 
saith, Vitam fallere. To draw on still, and amuse 
and deceive our life, till it be advanced insensibly to 



400 

the fatal period, and fall into that pit which nature 
hath prepared for it. The meaning of all this is no 
more, than that most vulgar saying, Bene qui latuit, 
hene vixit ; He hath lived virell, "who hath lain well 
hidden. Which, if it be a truth, the world is suffi- 
ciently deceived ; For my part, I think it is ; and 
that the pleasantest condition in life is in incognito. 
What a brave privilege is it, to be free from all con- 
tentions, from all envying, or being envied, from re- 
ceiving and from paying all kind of ceremonies ! We 
are here among the vast and noble scenes of nature ; 
we are there among the pitiful shifts of policy : AYe 
walk here in the light, and open ways of the divine 
bounty; we grope there in the dark and confused 
labyrinths of human malice: Our senses are here 
feasted with the clear and genuine taste of their ob- 
jects ; w:hich are all sophisticated there; and, for the 
most part overwhelmed with their contraries. Here 
pleasure looks, methinks, like a beautiful, constant, 
and modest wife ; it is there an impudent, fickle, and 
painted harlot. Here is harmless and cheap plenty : 
There, guilty and expenceful luxury. The antiquity 
of this art is certainly not to be contested by any 
other. The three first men in the world, were a 
Gardener, a Ploughman, and Grazier: And if any 
man object, That the second of these was a Murderer; 
I desire he would consider, that as soon as he was so, 
he quitted our Profession, and turned Builder. It is 
for this reason, I suppose, that the son of Sirach for- 
bids us to hate husbandary ; because (saith he) the 
Most High hath created it. We were all born to this 
art, and taught by nature to nourish our bodies by the 
same earth out of which they were made, and to which 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 401 

they must return, and pay at last for their sustenance. 
Behold the Original and Primitive Nobility of all those 
Great persons, who are too proud now not only to Till 
the ground, but almost to tread upon it. We may 
talk what we please of lilies and lions rampant, and 
spread eagles in fields d'or, or d'argent ; but if heral- 
dry were guided by Reason, a Plough in a Field 
Arable would be the most noble and ancient arms." 

Blest be the man (and blest is he) whome'er, 

(Plac'd far out of the roads of Hope or Fear) 

A little Field, a little Garden, feeds ; 

The Field gives all that Frugal nature needs : 

The wealthy Garden lib'rally bestows 

All she can ask, when she Luxurious grows. 

The specious inconveniences that wait 

Upon a life of business and of state, 

He sees (nor doth the sight disturb his rest) 

By PovjIs desir'd, by AVicked men possest. 

Ah wretched, and too Solitary, he 

Who loves not his own Company : 

He'll feel the weight oft many a day, 

Unless he call in sin or vanity 

To help to bear't away. 

Out of Martial, he gives us this following epigram 
which he makes his by Translation and Choice, to 
tell his own Solitude by : I place it here as his. 

Would you be free ? 'Tis your chief wish you say 
Come on ; I'll shew thee, friend, the certain way : 
If to no feasts abroad thou lov'st to go. 
Whilst bounteous God doth bread at home bestow : 
If thou the goodness of thy clothes dost prize 
By thy own Use, and not by others' Eyes ; 
If only safe from AVeathers, thou canst dwell 
In a small House, but a convenient Shell ; 
If thou without a Sigh or Golden Wish 
Canst look upon thy Beechen Bowl, or Dish ; 
If in thy mind such Power and Greatness be, 
The Pei-sian King's a Slave, compar'd with thee. 

26 



402 

Whilst this hard truth I teach, methinks I see 
The monster, London, laugh at me ; 

I should at thee too, foolish city, 
If it were fit to laugh at Misery; *> 

But thy estate I pity. 
Let but thy wicked men from out thee go, 
And all the fools that crowd thee so; 

Even thou who dost thy millions boast, 
A Village less than Islington wilt grow ; 

A solitude almost. 

I shall conclude him with this prayer of his own. 

For the few hours of life allotted me, 

Give me (great God) but Bread and Liberty; 

I'll bog no more ; if more thou'rt pleas'd to give, 

I'll thankfully that Overplus receive. 

If beyond This no more be freely sent, 

I'll thank for This, and go away content. 

Here ends the wit, the praise, the learning, the 
city, the court, with Abraham Cowley, that once 
knew and had them all. 

Sect. 32. The late earl of Rochester was inferior 
to nobody in wit, and hardly any body ever used it 
worse, if we believe him against himself in his Dying 
Reflections : An account of which I have had from 
some that visited him in his sickness, besides that 
^ larger one made public by the present bishop of Sal- 
isbury. It was then that he came to think there was 
a God, for he felt his lashes on his conscience ; and 
that there was such a thing as ^Yirtue, and a Reward 
for it. Christianity was no longer a worldly or ab- 
surd design: But Christ a Saviour, and a most Merciful 
one ; and his doctrines plain, just, and reasonable, 
and the true way to felicity here and hereafter : Ad- 
miring and adoring that mercy to him, which he had 
treated with so much infidelity and obstinate con- 



! 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 403 

tempt : Wishing only for more life to confute his 
past one, and in some measure to repair the injuries 
he had done to religion bj it : Begging forgiveness 
for Christ's sake, though he thought himself the most 
unworthy of it for his Own. Thus died that witty 
Lord Rochester : and this retreat he made from the 
world he had so great a name in. May the loose wits 
of the times, as he desired, take Warning by him, 
and not leave their Repentance to a Dying-bed. 

Sect. 33. A noble young man of the family of 
Howard, having too much yielded to the temptations 
of youth, when upon his sick-bed, which proved his 
Dying-bed, fell under the power and agony of great 
convictions, mightily bewailing himself in the remem- 
brance of his former extravagancies ; crying strongly 
to God to forgive him, abhorring his former course, 
and promising amendment, if God renewed life to 
him. However, he was willing to die, having tasted 
of the love and forgiveness of God ; warning his 
acquaintance and kindred that came to see him, to 
fear God, and forsake the pleasures and vanity of this 
world : And so willingly yielded his soul from the 
troubles of time, and frailties of mortality. 

Sect. 34. The late princess Elizabeth of the Rhine, 
of right claimeth a memorial in. this discourse; her vir- 
tue giving greater lustre to her name than her quality, 
which yet was of the greatest in the German empire. 
She chose a single life as freest of care, and best suit- 
ed to the study and meditation she was always inclined 
to ; and the chiefest diversion she took, next the air, 
was in some such plain and housewifely entertainment, 
as knitting, &;c. She had a small territory v»'hich she 
governed so well, that she shewed herself fit for a 



404 

greater. She would constantly, every Last Day in 
the week, sit in judgment, and hear and determine 
causes herself; where her patience, justice, and mercy 
were admirable ; frequently remitting her forfeitures, 
where the party was poor, or otherwise meritorious. 
And, which was excellent, though unusual, she would 
temper her discourses with Religion, and strangely 
draw concerned parties to submission and agreement ; 
exercising not so much the rigour of her power, as 
the power of her persuasion. Her meekness and 
humilty appeared to me extraordinary. She never 
considered the quality, but the merit of the people 
she entertained. Did she hear of '■' a retired man, hid 
from the world, and seeking after the knowledge of a 
better," she was sure to set him down in the cata- 
logue of her charity, if he wanted it ; I have casually 
seen, I believe. Fifty Tokens sealed and superscribed 
to the several poor subjects of her bounty, whose dis- 
tances would not suffer them to know one another, 
though they knew her, whom yet some of them had 
never seen. Thus, though she kept "no sumptuous 
table in her own court, she spread the tables of the 
poor in their solitary Cells ; breaking bread to vir- 
tuous pilgrims according to their want, and her ^ 
ability. Abstemious in herself, and in apparel void 
of all vain ornaments." 

I must needs say, her mind had a noble prospect : 
Her eye was to a better and more lasting inheritance, 
than can be found below ; which made her often to 
despise the greatness of courts, and learning of the 
schools, of which she was an extraordinary judge. 
Being once at Hamburgh, a religious person, whom 
she went to see for religion's sake, telling her, '' It 



NO GROWN. 405 

"was too great an honour for him, that he should have 
a visitant of her quality come under his roof, that was 
allied to so many great kings and princes of this 
world;" she humbly answered, "If they were godly 
as well as great, it would be an honour indeed; but if 
you knew what that greatness was, as well as I, you 
would value less that honour." Being in some agony 
of spirit, after a religious meeting we had in her own 
chamber, she said, " It is an hard thing to be faithful 
<to what one knows : Oh the way is strait! I am afraid 
I am not weighty enough in my spirit to walk in it." 
After another meeting she uttered these' words; "I 
have records in my library, that the Gospel was first 
brought out of England hither into Germany by the 
English, and now it is come again." She once with- 
drew, on purpose to give her servants the liberty of 
discoursing us, that they might the more freely put 
what questions of conscience they desired to be satis- 
fied in ; for they were religious : Suffering both them, 
and the poorest of her town, to sit by her, in her own 
bed-chamber, where we had two meetings. I cannot 
forget her Last Words when I took my leave of her : 
" Let me desire you to remember me, though I live 
at this distance, and that you should never see me 
more. I thank you for this good time ; and know and 
be assured, though my condition subjects me to divers 
temptations, yet my soul hath strong desires after the 
best things." She lived her single life till about sixty 
years of age, and then departed at her own house in 
Herwerden, which was about^ two years since ; as 
much lamented, as she had lived beloved of the peo- 

1 She died in 1680. And this passage was inserted in a second edi- 
tion of this treatise, an. 1682. - 



406 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

pie : To whose Real Worth, I do, with Religious 
Gratitude for her kind reception, dedicate this memo- 
rial. 

Sect. 35. Bulstrode Whitlock has left his own 
character in his "Memorials of English affairs;" a 
hook that shows both his employment and greater 
abilities. He was almost ever a commissioner ana 
companion with those great men, that the lords, and 
commons of England, at several times, appointed to 
treat with King Charles I. for a peace. He was 
commissioner of the great seal, ambassador to the 
crown of Swedeland, and sometimes president of the 
council: A scholar, a lawyer, a statesman; in short, 
he was one of the most accomplished men of the age. 
Being with him sometimes at his own house in Berk- 
shire, where he gave me that account I have related 
of chancellor Oxcistern, amongst many serious things 
he spoke, this was very observable. "I ever have 
thought," said he, "there has been One True Religion 
in the world ; and that is, the work of the Spirit of 
God in the hearts and souls of men. There have been 
indeed divers forms and shapes of things, through the 
many dispensations of God to men, answerable to his 
own wise ends, in reference to the low and uncertain 
state of man in the world, but the Old World had the 
Spirit of God, for it strove with them ; and the New 
World has had the Spirit of God, both Jew and 
Gentile ; and it strives with all ; and they that have 
been led by it, have been the good people in every 
dispensation of God to the world. And I myself 
must say, I have felt it from a child to convince me 
of my evil and vanity; and it has often given me a 
true measure of this poor world, and some taste of 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 407 

divine things ; and it is my grief I did not more early 
apply my soul to it. For I can say, since my retire- 
ment from the greatness and hurries of the world, I 
have felt something of the work and comfort of it, 
and that it is both ready and able to instruct, and 
lead, and preserve those that will humbly and sin- 
cerely hearken to it. So that my religion is the Good 
Spirit of God in my heart ; I mean, what that has 
wrought in me and for me." After a meeting at his 
house, to which he gave an entire liberty for all that 
pleased to come, he was so deeply affected with the tes- 
timony of the Light, Spirit, and Grace of Christ in 
Man, as the Gospel Dispensation, that after the meet- 
ing closed in prayer, he rose up, and pulled off his 
hat, and said, "This is the Everlasting Gospel I have 
heard this day ; and I humbly bless the name of God, 
that he has let me live to see this day, in which the 
Ancient Gospel is again preached to them that dwell 
upon the earth." 

Sect. 36. A sister of the family of Penn, of Penn, 
in Buckinghamshire, a young woman delighting in the 
finery and pleasures of the world, was seized with a 
violent illness, that proved mortal to her. In the time 
of her sickness she fell into great distress of soul, bit- 
terly bewailing the want of that inward peace which 
makes a death-bed easy to the righteous. After several 
days languishing, a little consolation appeared after 
this manner. She was some hours in a kind of a 
Trance ; she apprehended she was brought into a place 
where Christ was ; to whom could she but deliver her 
petition, she hoped to be relieved. But her endea- 
vours increased her pain ; for as she pressed to deliver 
It, " He turned his back upon her, and would not so 



408 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

much as look towards her. But that which added to her 
sorrow, was, That she beheld others admitted." How- 
ever, she gave not over importuning him: And when 
almost ready to faint, and her hope to sink, "he turned 
one side of his face towards her, and reached forth his 
hand, and received her request: at which her troubled 
soul found immediate consolation." Turning to those 
about her, she repeats what had befallen her; adding, 
" Bring me my new clothes ; take off the lace and 
finery." And charged her relations, "Not to deck 
and adorn themselves after the manner of the world ; 
for that the Lord Jesus, whom she had seen appeared 
to her in the likeness of a Plain Country Man, with- 
out any trimming or ornament whatever; and that his 
servants ought to be like him." 

Sect. 37. My own Father, after thirty years em- 
ployment with good success, in divers, places of em- 
inent trust and honour in his own country ; upon a 
serious reflection not long before his death, spoke to 
me in this manner, "Son William, I am weary of the 
world ; I would not live over my days again, if I could 
command them with a wish ; for the snares of life are 
greater than the fears of death. This troubles me, 
that I have offended a gracious God, that has followed 
me to this day. have a care of sin ! That is the 
sting both of life and death. Three things I commend 
to you :" First, " Let nothing in this world tempt you 
to wrong your Conscience :" "I charge you, do 
nothing against your conscience ; so will you keep 
peace at home, which will be a feast to you in a day 
of trouble. Secondly, Whatever you design to do," 
"lay it justly, and time it seasonably;" "for that 
gives security and dispatch. Lastly, Be not troubled 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 409 

at disappointments ;" "for if they may be recovered, 
do it ; if they cannot, trouble is vain. If you could 
not have helped it, be content ; there is often peace 
and profit in submitting to Providence : for afflictions 
make wise. If you could have helped it, let not your 
trouble exceed instruction for another time : These 
rules will carry you with firmness and comfort through 
this inconstant world." At another time he inveighed 
against the profaneness and impiety of the age ; often 
crying out, with an earnestness of spirit, "Wo to 
thee, England ! God will judge thee, England ! 
Plagues are at thy door, England ! " He much 
bewailed. That divers men in power, and many of the 
nobility and gentry of the kingdom, were grown so 
dissolute and profane ; often saying, " God has for- 
saken us ; we are infatuated ; we will shut our eyes ; 
we will not see our true interests and happiness ; we 
shall be destroyed !" Apprehending the consequences 
of the growing looseness of the age to be our ruin ; 
and that the methods most fit to serve the king- 
dom with true credit at home and abroad, were too 
much neglected; the trouble of which did not a little 
help to feed his distemper, which drew him daily nearer 
to his end : and as he believed it, so less concerned or 
disordered I never saw him at any time ; of which I 
took good notice. Wearied to live, as well as near to 
die, he took his leave of us ; and of me, with this ex- 
pression, and a most composed countenance : " Son 
William, if you and your Friends keep to your plain 
Way of Preaching, and keep to your plain way of 
Living, you will make an end of the priests to the end 
of the world. Bury me by my mother : live all in 
love : shun all manner of evil : And I pray God to 
bless you all ; and he will bless you." 



410 

Sect. 38. Anthony Lowther, of Mask ; a person 
of good sense, of a sweet temper, a just mind, and of 
a sober education ; when of age to be under his own 
government, was drawn by the men of pleasure of the 
town into the usual freedoms of it, and w^as as much a 
judge as any body of the satisfaction that way of living 
could yield ; but some time before his sickness, with a 
free and strong judgment, he would frequently up- 
braid himself, and contemn the world, for those un- 
seasonable as well as unchristian liberties, that so much 
abound in it ; which apprehension increased by the in- 
struction of a long and. sharp sickness: He would 
often despise their folly, and abhor their guilt; breath- 
ing, with some impatience, after the knowledge of the 
best things, and the best company ; losing as little 
time as he could, that he might redeem the time he had 
lost ; testifying often, with a lively relish, to the truth 
of religion, from the sense he had of it in his own 
breast : Frequently professing, "}ie knew no joy com- 
parable to that of being assured of the Love and 
Mercy of God." Which as he often implored with 
strong convictions, and a deep humility and reverence, 
so he had frequently tastes thereof before his last 
period ; pressing his relations and friends, in a most 
serious and affectionate manner, to "love God and one 
another More, and this vile world less." And of this 
he was so full, it was almost ever the conclusion of his 
most inward discourses with his family; though he 
sometimes said, " he could have been willing to have 
lived, if God had pleased to see his younger children 
nearer a settlement in the world ; yet he felt no desire 
to live longer in the world, but on the terms of living 
better in it ;" For that he did not only think virtue 



411 

the safest, but the Happiest way of living ; Commend- 
ing and Commanding it to his children upon his last 
blessing. 

I shall conclude this chapter of Retired, Aged, and 
Dying Persons, with some collections I have made out 
of the life of a person of great piety and quality of 
the French nation. 

Sect. 39. Du Renty, a young nobleman of France, 
of admirable parts, as well as great birth, touched 
with a sense of the vanity of the world, and the sweet- 
ness of a retired and religious life, notwithstanding 
the honours and employments that waited for him, 
abandons the pride and pomp of the world, to enjoy a 
life of more communion with God : Do but hear him : 
*' I avow (saith he) that I have no gust in anything, 
where I find not Jesus Christ. And for a soul that 
speaks not of him, or in which we cannot taste any 
effect of Grace flowing from his Spirit (which is the 
Principle of Operations, both inward and outward, that 
are solidly Christian) speak not to me at all of such 
an one. Could I (as I may say) behold both miracles 
and wonders there, and yet not Jesus Christ, nor hear 
any talk of Him, I count all but amusement of spirit, 
loss of time, and a very dangerous precipice. Let us 
encourage ourselves to lead this life unknown and 
wholly hid from men, but most known to, and intimate 
with God ; divesting ourselves, and chasing out of our 
minds all those many superfluities, and those many 
amusements, which bring with them so great a damage, 
that they take up our minds, instead of God. So that 
when I consider that which thwarts and cuts into so 
many pieces this holy, this sweet and amiable Union, 
which we should have continually with God, it appears, 



412 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

that it is only a monsieur, a madame, a compliment, 
and chatting, indeed a mere foolery ; which notwith- 
standing, doth ravish and wrest from us the time that 
is so precious, and the fellowship that is so holy and 
so desirable. Let us quit this, I pray you, and learn 
to court it with our own Master. Let us well under- 
stand our part, our own world (as we here phrase it); 
not that world, I mean, which we do renounce, but 
that wherein the children of God do their duties to their 
Father. There is nothing in this world so separate 
from the world, as God ; and the greater the saints 
are, the greater is their retirement Into Him. This 
our Saviour taught us whilst he lived on earth, being 
in all his visible employments united to God, and 
retired into the bosom of his Father. Since the time 
that I gave up my liberty to God, as I told you, I 
was given to understand, to what a state of Annihilation 
the soul must be brought, to render it capable of 
Union with him ; I saw my soul reduced into a small 
point, contracted and shrunk up to Nothing : And at 
the same time I beheld myself, as if encompassed with 
whatsoever the world loves and possesseth; and, as it 
were, a hand removing all this far from me, throwing 
it into the ocean of annihilation. In the first place, 
I saw removed all Exterior Things, Kingdoms, Great 
Offices, Stately Buildings, Rich Household-stuff, Gold 
and Silver, Recreations, Pleasures; all which are great 
Incumbrances to the soul's passing on to God: of which 
therefore his pleasure is, that she be stripped, that she 
may arrive at the point of nakedness and death, which 
will bring her into possession of solid riches, and real 
life. Assure yourself, there is no security in any 
estate, but this of Dying and Annihilation ; which is, 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 413 

to be baptized into Christ's death, that we live the life 
of mortification. Our best way is therefore, to divest 
ourselves of All, that the Holy Child Jesus may govern 
all. All that can be imagined in this lower world, is 
of small concernment, though it were the losing of all 
our goods, and the death of all the men in it ; 
this poor ant-hill is not worthy of a serious thought. 
Had we but a little Faith, and a little Love, how happy 
should we esteem ourselves, in giving away all, to 
attend no more, save on God alone; and to say, JDeus 
meus, ^ omnia! My God, and my All! — Being (saith 
he) in a chapel richly wainscotted, and adorned with 
very excellent sculpture, and with imagery, I beheld 
it with some attention, having had some skill in these 
things, and saw the bundle of fiowers-de-luces, and of 
flowers in form of borders, and of very curious work- 
manship ; it was on a sudden put into my mind, The 
Original of what thou seest, would not detain thee 
at all in seeing it. And I perceived that indeed all 
these, and those flowers themselves (not in pictures) 
would not have taken me up; and all the ornaments 
which architecture and art invent, are but things most 
mean and low, running in a manner only upon Flowers, 
Fruits, Branches, Harpies, and Chimeras ; part where- 
of are, in their very being, but things common and 
low, and part of them merely imaginary ; and yet man 
(who croucheth to everything) renders himself amorous 
and a slave of them ; no otherwise than as if a Good 
workman should stand to copy out, and counterfeit, 
some trifles and fopperies. I considered by this sight 
how poor man was to be cheated, amused, and diverted 
from his Sovereign Good. And since that time, I 
could make no more stand to consider any of these 



414 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

things : And if I did it, I should reproach myself for 
it ; as no sooner seeing them in churches, or elsewhere, 
but this is presently put upon my spirit, The Original 
is Nothing, the copy and the Image is yet less : Each 
thing is Vain, except the Employment of ourselves 
about God alone. An absolute Abnegation will be 
necessary to all things, to follow in Simplicity, with- 
out Reserve or Reflection, what our Saviour shall 
work in us or appoint for us, let it be this or that. 
This way was shewed me in which I ought to walk to- 
wards him; and hence it is, that all things to me ordi- 
narily are without any gust or delight. I assure you, 
it is a great shame to a Christian to pass his days in 
this world more at ease than Jesus Christ here passed 
his. Ah! had we but a little faith, what repose could 
we take out of the cross ?" 

I will conclude his sayings with his dying blessing 
to his surviving children. 

"I pray God bless you; and may it please him to 
bless you, and to preserve jon by his Grace from the 
evil of the world, that you may have no part therein : 
and above all, my children, that you may live in the 
fear and love of God, and yield due obedience to your 
mother." 

Expressions of that weight and moment to the im- 
mortal good of men, that they abundantly prove, to 
all sensible readers, that the author was a man of aa 
enlightened mind, and of a soul mortified to the world, 
and quickened to some tastes of a supernatural life. 
Let his youth, let his quality, adorned with so much 
zeal and piety, so much self-denial and constancy, be- 
come exemplary to those of worldly quality, who may 
be the readers of this book. Some, perhaps, will hear 



415 

that truth from the several authors I have reported, 
whose names, death and time have recovered from the 
envy of men, that would hardly endure it from me, if 
at all from the living. Be it as it will, I shall abund- 
antly rejoice, if God shall please to make any part 
of this discourse effectual to persuade any into the 
love of holiness, "without which," certain it is, ''no 
man shall see the Lord : But the pure in heart shall 
behold him forever." 

To conclude : I cannot pass this reflection upon 
what is observed of the sayings of Dying Men, and 
which to me seems to have great instruction in it; viz. 
All men agree, when they come to die, it is best to be 
Religious ; to live an Holy, Humble, Strict, and self- 
denying Life ; Retired, Solitary, Temperate, and Dis- 
encumbered of the World. Then loving God ABOVE 
ALL, and our neighbours as ourselves, forgiving our 
enemies, and praying for them, are solid things, and 
the essential part of religion, as the true ground of 
man's happiness. Then all sin is " exceeding sinful," 
and yields no more pleasure : But every inordinate 
desire is burthensome, and severely reproved. Then 
the world, with all the lawful comforts in it, weighs 
light against that sense and judgment, which such men 
have between the temporal and the eternal. And since 
it is thus with dying men, what instruction is it to the 
living, whose pretence, for the most part, is a perpe- 
tual contradiction? ! that men would learn to "Num- 
ber their days, that they might apply their hearts to 
wisdom ;" of which " the fear of the Lord is the true 
and only beginning." And Blessed are they that 
fear always, for their feet shall be preserved from the 
snare of death." 



416 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Sect. 1. Of the way of living amongst the first Christians. 2. . An Ex- 
hortation to all professing Christianity, to embrace the foregoing 
Reasons and Examples. 3. Plain dealing with such as reject them. 
4. Their recompenses. 5. The Author is better persuaded and assured 
of some : An Exhortation to them. 6. Encouragement to the Children 
of Light to persevere from a consideration of the Excellency of their 
Reward; the End and Triumph of the Christian Conqueror. The 
whole concluded with a brief Supplication to Almighty God. 

THE CONCLUSION. 

* 

Sect. 1. Having finished so many Te&timonies, as 
my time would give me leave, in favour of this sub- 
ject, No Cross, No Crown ; No Temperance, No 
Happiness ; No Virtue, No Reward ; No Mortification, 
No Glorification: I shall conclude with a short de- 
scription of the life and worship of the Christians with- 
in the first century, or hundred years after Christ : 
What simplicity, what spirituality, what holy love and 
communion did in that blessed age abound among 
them! It is delivered originally by Philo Judseus, 
and cited by Eusebius Pamphilius, in his Ecclesiastical 
History; That those Christians renounced their sub- 
stance, and severed themselves from all the cares of 
this life ; and forsaking the cities, they lived solitary 
in fields and gardens. They accounted their company, 
who followed the contrary life of cares and bustles, 
as unprofitable and hurtful to them; to the end that 
with earnest and fervent desires, they might imitate 
them which led this prophetical and heavenly life. In 
many places, says he, this people liveth; for it be- 
hoveth as well the Grecians as the Barbarians, to 
be partakers of this absolute goodness ; but in Egypt, 
in every province they abound; and especially about 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 417 

Alexandria. From all parts the better sort withdrew 
themselves into the soil and place of these worshippers, 
as they were called, as a most commodious place, ad- 
joining to the Lake of Mary, in a valley very fit, both 
for its security and the temperance of the air. They 
are farther reported to have meeting-houses, where the 
most part of the day was employed in worshipping 
God: That they were great Allegorizers of the scrip- 
tures, making them all figurative : That the external 
show of words, or the letter, resembleth the superfices 
of the body;" and the hidden sense or understanding 
of the words seem in place of the soul ; which they 
contemplate by their beholding names, as it were in 
a glass :"^ That is, their religion consisted not 
chiefly in reading the letter, disputing about it, ac- 
cepting things in Literal Constructions, but in the 
Things declared of, the substance itself, bringing 
things nearer to the mind, soul, and spirit, and press- 
ing into a more hidden and heavenly sense ; making 
religion to consist in the Temperance and Sanctity of 
the Mind, and not in the formal Bodily Worship, so 
much now-a-days in repute, fitter to please Comedians 
than Christians. Such was the practice of those 
times: But now the case is altered; people will be 
Christians, and have their worldly-mindedness too : 
But though God's kingdom suficr violence by such, 
yet shall they never enter : The Life of Christ and 
his followers hath in all ages been another thing ; and 
there is but One Way, One Guide, One Best ; all 
which are pure and holy. 

Sect. 2. But if any, notwithstanding our many 

1 Philo Judaeus of the worship of Egypt and Alexaud. Euseb. Pam. 
Eccl. Hist. 1. 2, c. 17. 

27 



418 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

sober reasons, and numerous testimonies from scrip- 
ture, or the example or experience of religious, -svorldly 
and profane, living and dying men, at home and 
abroad, of the greatest note, fame, and learning in the 
whole world, shall yet remain lovers and imitators of 
the folly and the vanity condemned ; if the cries and 
groans, sighs and tears, and complaints and mournful 
wishes of so many reputed great, nay, some sober 
men — " that I had more time ! — that I might 
live a year longer, I would live a stricter life ! — 
that I were a poor Jean Urick ! — All is vanity in this 
world: — my poor soul, whither wilt thou go? — 
that I had the time spent in vain recreations ! — A 
serious life is above all;" and such-like; if, I say, 
this by no means can prevail, but if yet they shall 
proceed to folly, and follow the vain world, what greater 
evidence can they give of their heady resolution to go 
on impiously; to despise God; to disobey his precepts; 
to deny Christ ; to scorn ; not to bear his cross ; to 
forsake the examples of his servants ; to give the lie 
to the dying serious sayings and consent of all ages ; 
to harden themselves against the checks of conscience; 
to befool and sport away their precious time, and poor 
immortal souls to wo and misery ? In short, it is plainly 
to discover you neither have Reason to justify your- 
selves, nor yet enough of Modesty to blush at your 
own folly; but, as those that have lost the sense of one 
and the other, go on to " eat and drink, and rise up 
to play." In vain therefore is it for you to pretend 
to fear the God of heaven, whose minds serve the god 
of the pleasure of this world : In vain it is to say, you 
believe in Christ, who receive not his self-denying |j 
doctrine : And to no better purpose will all you do. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 419 

avail. If he that had loved " God and his neighbour, 
and kept the commandments from his youth," was 
excluded from being a disciple, "because he sold not 
all, and followed Jesus ;" with what confidence can 
you call yourselves Christians, who have neither kept 
the commandments, nor yet forsaken anything to be 
so? And if it was a bar betwixt him and the eternal life 
he sought, that, notwithstanding all his other virtues, 
love to Money, and his external possessions, "could not 
be parted with ;"^ what shall be your end, who canijiot 
deny yourselves many less things, but are daily 
multiplying your inventions, to please your fleshly, 
appetites ? Certainly, "much more impossible is it 
to forsake the Greater. Christ tried his love, in 
bidding him forsake All, because he knew, for all 
his brags, that his mind was rivetted therein ; not 
that if he had enjoyed his possessions with Christian 
Indifferency, they might not have been continued: But 
what then is their doom, whose hearts are so fixed 
in the vanities of the world, that they will rather make 
them Christian, that not to be Christians in the use 
of them? But such a Christian this Young Man 
might have been, who had more to say for himself than 
the strictest Pharisee living dare pretend to; yet "he 
went away sorrowful from Jesus. "^ Should I ask 
you, if Nicodemus did well to come by night, and be 
ashamed of the great Messiah of the world? And if 
he was not Ignorant when Christ spake to him of the 
New Birth? I know you would answer me, "He did 
very ill, and was very ignorant." *But stay a while, 

1 Exod. xxxii. 6. Amos vi. 3 to 6. Eph. iv. 17, 24. 2 Tim. ii. 19. 
Matt. xix. 16 to 22. 
^ John iii. 1 to 5. 



420 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

the beam is in your own eyes ; you are ready doubt- 
less, to condemn Him, and the Young Man for not 
doing what you not only refuse to do yourselves, but 
laugh at Others for doing. Nay, had such passages 
not been written, and were it not for the reverence 
some pretend for the Scriptures, they would both be as 
stupid as Nicodemus in their answers to such heavenly 
matters, and ready to call it canting to speak so ; as it 
is frequent for you, when we speak to the same effect, 
though not the same words : just as the Jews, at what 
time they called God their Father, they despised his 
Son ; and when he spake of sublime and heavenly mys- 
teries, some cried, "He has a devil;" others, "He is 
mad:" and most of them, "These are hard sayings, 
who can bear them ?" 

Sect. 3. And to you all, that sport yourselves after' 
the manners of the World, let me say, that you are 
those " who profess you know God, but in works deny 
him ;"^ living in those pleasures which slay the Just 
in yourselves. For though you talk of believing, it is 
no more than taking it for granted that there is a God, 
a Christ, Scriptures, &c. without farther concerning 
yourselves to prove the verity thereof, to yourselves 
or others, by a strict and holy conversation: Which 
slight way of Believing, is but a light and careless 
way of ridding yourselves of farther examination ; and 
rather throwing them off with an inconsiderate grant- 
ing of them to be so, than giving yourselves the trou- 
ble of making better inquiry, leaving that to your 
priests, oft-times more ignorant, and not less vain and 
idle, than yourselves, which is so far from a Gospel 
Faith, that it is the least respect you can show to God, 

1 Titus i. 16. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 421 

Scriptures, &c. and next to which kind of Believing is 
nothing, under a Denial of all. 

But if you have hitherto laid aside all temptations 
to Reason and Shame, at least he entreated to resume 
them now in a matter of this importance, and whereon 
no less concernment rests, than your temporal and 
eternal happiness. " Oh ! retire, retire ; observe the 
reproofs of instruction in your own minds : that which 
begets sadness in the midst of mirth, which cannot 
solace itself, nor be contented below immortality; 
which calls often to an account at nights, mornings, 
and other seasons ; which lets you see the vanity, the 
folly, the end, and misery of these things ; this is the 
Just Principle, and Holy Spirit of the Almighty with- 
in you : hear him, obey him, converse with them who 
are led by him ; and let the glories of another w^orld 
be eyed, and the heavenly recompense of reward kept 
in sight." Admit not the thoughts of former follies 
to revive ; but be steady, and continually exercised by 
his Grace, " to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and 
to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present 
world. "^ For this is the true and heavenly nature of 
Christianity, " To be so awakened and guided by the 
Spirit and Grace of God, as to leave the sins and 
vanities of the world, and to have the affections rege- 
nerated, the mind reformed, and the whole man bap- 
tized into purity and faithfulness towards God and 
man, as to act with reverence, justice, and mercy. 
To care for very few things ; to be content with what 
you have; to use all as if you used them not; and to 
be so disentangled from the lusts, pleasures, profits, 
and honours of the world, as to have the mind raised 

1 Tit. ii. 1], 12, 13, 14. 



422 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

to things above, the heart and affections fixed there : 
that in all things jou may glorify God, and be as 
lights set on a hill, whose shining examples may be 
conducing to the happiness of others, who beholding 
such good works, may be converted, and glorify God 
the Father of lights, in whom you all would be eter- 
nally blessed." 

Sect. 4. But if the impenitence of any is so great, 
their pursuit of folly as earnest, and, notwithstanding 
what has been thus seriously offered to reclaim them, 
they are resolved to take their course, and not to be 
at leisure for more divine things, I have this farther 
to leave with them from the Almighty, who first called 
me to this work ; " That tribulation, anguish, and sor- 
row shall make their dying-beds ; indignation and 
wrath shall wind up their days; and trouble and vexa- 
tion of mind and spirit shall be the miserable fruits 
which they shall reap, as the reward of all their 
wretched folly and rebellion !"^ Be not deceived, God 
will not be mocked : It is so irreversibly decreed ; 
Whatsoever is sown here, shall be reaped hereafter. 
And just is the Almighty, to make good his determina- 
tions upon such, who instead of employing the time 
given them, to "work out their salvation with fear and 
trembling,"^ have spent it in the pleasures of the flesh, 
which perisheth ; as if their heaven were here. Nor 
can it seem unreasonable, since he hath thus long 
waited with Remission of Sins and Eternal Life in 
his hand, to distribute to them that Repe'Nt ; that if 
such will not, to recompense so great obstinacy, and 
love of this perishing world, with everlasting tribula- 
tion.^ 

» Rom. ii. 4, 5, 6, 9. ^ ^^1. vi. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. 

s Rev. iii. 20, and xxi. 21, and xxii. 13, 14, 15. 



NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 423 

Sect. 5. But I am otherwise persuaded of many ; 
yes, I am assured the mercies of the everlasting God 
have been so extended to many, that this will prove 
an effectual call to bring them out of the ways and 
customs of this corrupted and corrupting world; and a 
means for establishing such, who hitherto have been 
unfaithful to what they have been already convinced 
of. And you, my friends, whose minds have received 
the Alarm, " whose hearts have truly heard the voice 
of one crying in the wilderness, where you have been 
straying from the Lord, Repent, Repent !" to you, in 
the name of the Great and Living God, I speak, I 
cry, "Come away, come away; ah! what do you do 
there ? Why are you yet behind ? That is not your 
rest : it is polluted with the sins and vanities of a 
perishing world : Gird up your loins ; eye your Light 
(One in All) Christ Jesus, the same yesterday, to-day, 
and forever; who hath enlightened every one : Follow 
him ; he will lead you to the city of God, that has 
foundations, into which the wicked cannot enter. "^ 

Sect. 6. Mind not ^the difficulties of your march ; 
great and good things were never enterprised and ac- 
complished without difficulty; which does but render 
their enjoyment more pleasant and glorious in the end. 
Let the holy men and women of old be your examples; 
remember good old Abraham, the excellency of whose 
faith is set out by his obedience to the voice of God, 
in forsaking his father's house, kindred, country, &c. 
And Moses, that might in probability have been made 
a 'king, by faith in God, leaves Egypt's glory, and 
Pharaoh's favours, and chooses rather to sojourn and 
pilgrimage with the despised, afflicted, tormented Is- 

1 John i. 9. 



424 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

raelites in the wilderness, than to enjoy the pleasures 
of that great court for a season ; esteeming Christ's re- 
proaches greater riches than Egypt's treasures. But, 
above all, how great was the reproach, how many the 
sufferings, how bitter the mockings, which Jesus suf- 
fered at the hands of his enemies ? Yet with what pa- 
tience, meekness, forgiveness, and constancy, did he in 
all his actions demean himself towards his bloody perse- 
cutors, " despising the shame, enduring the cross, for 
the joy that was set before him ? And hath left us 
this glorious example, that we should follow his steps;"* 
which hath in almost every age been imitated by some. 
The apostles sealed their testimonies with their blood, 
and multitudes after the example of their constancy ; 
esteeming it the greatest honour, as it was always at- 
tended with the signallest demonstrations of the Divine 
Presence. How memorable was that of Origen? "If 
my father were weeping upon his knees before me, and 
my mother hanging about my neck behind me, and all 
my brethren, sisters, and kinsfolk lamenting on every 
side, to retain me in the life and practice of the world, 
I would fling my mother to the ground, run over my 
father, despise all my kindred, and tread them under 
my feet, that I might run to Christ." Yet it is not 
unknown, how dutiful and tender he was in those re- 
lations. Not much unlike to this, was that noble and 
known instance of latter times, in Galeacius Carac- 
ciolus, marquis of Vico, who abandoned his friends, 
estate and country, resolutely saying with Moses, 
" That he would rather suffer afflictions with the first 
reformers and protestants, than enjoy his former 

1 Gen. xii. 1, 2. Heb. xi. 24 to 27. I«3- liv. 3. Heb. xii. 1, 2. 1 
Pet. ii. 21, 22, 23. 



425 

plenty, favours and pleasures with his old religion." 
Nor is it possible for any now to quit the world, and 
live a serious godly life in Christ, without the like 
suffering and persecution. There are among us also 
some who have suffered the displeasure of their most 
dear and intimate relations and friends ; and all those 
troubles, disgraces, and reproaches, which are accus- 
tomed to attend such, as decline the " honours, plea- 
sures, ambition, and preferments of the world, and 
that choose to live an humble, serious, and self-deny- 
ing life before the Lord :" But they are very unequal 
to the joy and recompense that follow. For though 
there be no affliction that is not grievous for the pre- 
sent, yet what says the man of God? "It works a 
far more exceeding weight of glory in the end."* This 
has been both the faith and experience of those that 
in all ages have trusted in God, " who have not fainted 
by the way, but, enduring, have obtained an eternal 
diadem." 

"Wherefore, since we are compassed about with so 
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every 
weight and burden, and the sin and vanities that do 
so easily beset us ; and with a constant, holy patienca 
run our race, having our eyes fixed upon Jesus, the 
author and finisher of our faith, not minding what is 
behind;" so shall we be delivered from every snare. 
No temptations shall gain us, no frowns shall scare us 
from Christ's Cross, and our blessed self-denial: And 
honour, glory, immortality, and a crown of eternal 
life, shall recompense all our sufferings in the end.^ 

"0 Lord God! Thau lovest holiness, and purity is 

» 2 Tim. iii. 12. 1 Pet. iv. 1 to 5, ' Heb. xi. 1. Rom. t. 1 to 4. 
Phil. iii. IS. Rom, H.T, 



i-} 



426 NO CROSS, NO CROWN. 

t"hy delight in the earth. Wherefore, I pray thee,^ 
make an end of sin, and finish transgression, and bring 
in thy everlasting righteousness to the souls of men, 
that thy poor creation may be delivered from the 
bondage it groans under, and the earth enjoy her 
sabbath again : That thy great name may be lifted up 
in all nations, and thy salvation renowned to the ends 
of the world. For thine is the kingdom, the power, 
and the glory forever. Amen." 



THE END. 



^PR 17195^ 














^ \\*^ 



'h'" 







^o, 



\\ ^Ad^ 



V 



^^^ 



,^^^ 









kA 



P o^ 







'■'^^ '^^^^^ /^l 










A-^'^^ 






•.,= \,^^ ^ 




:^ 9e. ' ^ii^^i 



V/yi M®^''"^'^'®^ "^'"9 file Bookkeeper process 
m Neutralizing agent: Magnesium OxkJe' 
Treatment Date: April 2006 



,<^ "^^^o^\v.o, Ci.''^'-^^ P''eservationTechnologies 

r° ^ ,.^ -'"rAV^*'-^ <^ '^^°'"-°'-^*f" "SPARER PRESERVATION 

2 z V^O^ «= '^^^M//h c ^ <1 111 Thomson Park Drive 

> ^ ^ - ^^^2^^0^ J. V- 0^ Cranberry Township, PA 16066 

^y. '->f " " -i ■& — - -'I 



i^^._ig <?- 



.«>^^ 



,^"- 



k^^ A 






\> 



'CI, -It 



^^v 



,v "^ 



^^ 






"\..# 



V 



9^ ^'^.^^ A^ 



.^^ 






: -^^0^ 






^^^v" 0,N 



.^ ^ 









- <L^^ ^ %^ 






r^^^^MCV;'^^ ^' 










,.0^ 



A<^^ % ^ 

V r .<? 5» ', ^ 




